World Class
by FlaminkoMage
Summary: [Sequel to Business Class]. Fairy Tail is in trouble. Hope seems lost for Natsu and Lucy, until one night, when Nashi overhears them. Business AU. Set eight years later.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey y'all! Welcome to the sequel of _'Business Class'_! Just a fair warning- you probably should go and read the prequel to this story before reading this one. Otherwise, nothing will make sense. Anyway, this story was honestly a spur of the moment decision. I wasn't planning on doing a sequel at first, but then an idea popped into my head and I decided to just go with it. XD I'm really looking forward to writing this! I really enjoyed writing Business Class, and I know this will be no different.**

 **Again, my update schedule varies, but if you're familiar with Business Class, you know I don't take _very_ long between chapters. If it takes more than a week or two, I'm probably just in a procrastination mood. Anyways, enjoy! Don't forget to tell me what you think in the reviews!**

* * *

"Hurry up, Mom!" Igor Dragneel yelled, eyeing the doorknob to the front door impatiently. "I don't wanna be late because of you!"

Nashi walked by her little brother, fixing her skirt and glancing at the clock in the middle of the room. She laughed, shooting him a wide grin and looking back to where her mother currently was. "Come on Mom!"

"Yeah, _Mom_ ," Natsu snickered, crossing his arms and looking at his wife who was still looking for her purse. "We need to get goin', _Mom_."

"Okay okay, I'm ready!" Lucy Dragneel said, slipping on her shoes and pumping a fist into the air. "Let's get going already! All of you are such slowpokes!"

Nashi rolled her eyes, waiting for Igor to get defensive.

"Hey! You were the one who was being-"

"It's a joke, Ig," Nashi said, patting the blonde's head and proceeding to open the door. "Now come on already!"

Natsu and Lucy exchanged a secretive glance, smiling before looking back at their eighteen-year-old daughter.

The four of them started to make their way down the streets of Magnolia. Igor was pointing towards all the landmarks they usually came across, and Nashi was daydreaming about the breakfast she had just eaten. They turned into a familiar street, looking straight ahead at the giant restaurant in front of them.

Lucy squeezed Natsu's hand for support. "Maybe today will be different," the mumbled. Her partner gulped and nodded.

"I hope so, Luce."

Natsu walked up to the large double doors, leading the rest of them into the large hall of the building.

 _Fairy Tail_.

Natsu's personal business that he had opened almost fourteen years prior.

And it was completely empty.

Natsu clenched his teeth in anger.

"How much was it this time?" Lucy asked, letting her children go into the kitchen area.

"Only three hundred jewel," Natsu said quietly, his fists clenching. "I had to raise the prices, Luce! I _had_ to. I didn't know people could be so stingy, as to not come for a simple menu price raise of three hundred!"

Lucy sighed. "How much was it last week?" she asked quietly, taking a seat at one of the booths.

"An extra three hundred fifty," Natsu replied, looking away. "It isn't my fault…"

"I know it isn't."

"I'm trying so hard!"

"I know you are."

"I used up my yearly profit with that last set of renovations!"

"I know you did."

"Why do people not come to Fairy Tail anymore?" Natsu questioned hopelessly. "I don't understand why a few price raises would prevent them from eating here."

"People don't want to pay too much for food, Natsu," Lucy tried to reason. "It isn't your fault… we'll check out the monthly balance tonight and see how much we can spend on some advertisements."

Natsu nodded, his head limply hanging from his shoulders. "Where did Nashi and Igor go?"

"Kitchen," Lucy said, pointing towards the large set of doors to their right. Natsu nodded, walking over to them and entering.

Nashi and Igor were by the sink. The water was running and the two were crowding around the faucets.

"I don't understand why this is so fascinating," Nashi said, flicking some water droplets onto her little brother's face. "I mean, what pleasure does he get from playing with this all day?"

"Same pleasure you get from your fire tricks," Igor said, giving her a pointed look.

"Okay well, that's different!" Nashi exclaimed, turning the handle to close the stream of water. "At least fire is entertaining! Water is so… bleh, boring."

"What's this about?" Lucy said, forcing a smile as she entered the room. Natsu was staring at his children with a peculiar gaze. Nashi and Igor didn't seem to notice, but the two were suddenly acting very strange.

"Just seeing why Storm finds this so fun," Nashi mumbled, taking a towel and wiping her hands clean. "I don't-"

"Oh you're one to talk you little pink-head," a new voice said. Nashi and Igor turned to see a tall raven-haired boy enter the room with a younger girl by his side. The boy looked around, nodding towards Natsu and Lucy. The girl went over to Igor, giving him a small hug and then looking at Nashi.

Nashi narrowed her eyes. "Well look who it is," she said as the boy advanced forwards. "Speak of the devil and he arrives."

"I'm not that pitiful," Storm Fullbuster scoffed, crossing his arms and shooting Igor a wide grin. "Hey, Igor."

"Storm! Sylvia!" Igor exclaimed, smiling with childish excitement. Sylvia lowered herself to ruffle the blonde boy's hair. The fourteen-year-old girl grinned heavily. She had always loved Igor, ever since he was a baby. She had taken on an especial liking towards him.

"Sylvia is so happy to see you again, Igor!" she exclaimed. "Even though it has only been a few days since we last saw one another!"

"Where's your dad, Storm?" Lucy asked.

"He told me he'd be coming by later with a few others, Aunty Lucy," Storm said, directing his gaze away from Nashi for just a moment. "Where's Tagg? Have you seen him around?"

"Lyon's dropping by in a few hours with him," Lucy said. "Until then, both of you can bask in each other's company."

Nashi pretended to gag. "That's it; I'm out," she said abruptly, grabbing her things and making her way towards the exit.

"Oi! Come back here!" Storm yelled, following after the pink-haired beauty.

Nashi pretended not to hear him, as she exited the restaurant through the back door, not bothering to say anything to the boy who was following her. She turned into the main street, beginning to pick up her pace as she tried to get away from his reach.

"Stop following me," she said, loud enough for him to hear her. They took a turn down another road.

"I will if you stop walking so quickly!" Storm yelled from behind her.

"Stop following me!" Nashi repeated, turning around swiftly and pushing the boy against the back of a tall building. The two of them had managed to enter a dark alley, somewhere in the middle of town. "What's your problem?! Can't you see I don't wanna be around you right now?"

"Well yeah," Storm said, easily releasing himself from her hold. "That much is obvious, at least."

"Then why do you keep annoying me so much?"

Storm rolled his eyes. "Because it's fun, duh," he said like it was obvious. "Annoying you is my favorite pastime, after all!" He then stuck out his tongue and raised his eyebrows, making the silliest expression ever.

"You're impossible!" Nashi screeched, throwing her arms into the air before quickly taking her phone and snapping a picture of Storm's face. "Now that's worthy of posting on _GuildMates_."

Storm looked at her in absolute shock. "No way! You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh yes I would!" Nashi said, laughing as she quickly pressed the 'post' option.

"Oi oi oi!" Storm yelled, jumping out at her and trying to take the phone away from her hands. "Give it here! Give it here!"

"Never!"

And with that, Nashi took off, back onto the main street with Storm chasing after her. The two laughed, running through the streets of Magnolia and trying to catch each other in their own little world.

Though they didn't get along often, anyone could tell that they were friends.

…

Lucy stared at the picture of Storm on her phone. Nashi had just posted it a little while ago, which explained her sudden disappearance.

"She's somewhere with Storm," Lucy told Natsu, showing him the picture. "See?"

Natsu groaned. "Sometimes I'm a bit worried 'bout them."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, intrigued. "Are you afraid she's going to go off and marry him tomorrow? Because I sure am."

"That's exactly the point," Natsu said, crossing his arms and pouting childishly. "I don't wanna let her go so soon, ya' know?"

"Yes, I know," Lucy sighed. "But I haven't restricted her from dating or anything. She is allowed to make her own decisions in that department. Her mother is just here to guide her through the process and the pains of first love."

"What's that supposed ta' mean?" Natsu said, mocking offense.

Lucy laughed. "Nothing, nothing. You know I'm far past all of that nonsense."

"But seriously, Luce, do ya' really think we shouldn't set out any rules for that kind of stuff?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow and thinking mostly to himself. "I mean… I wouldn't really know a lotta stuff. Your call."

"I mean, she hasn't talked to me about anything yet," Lucy said thoughtfully. "She might end up a lot like you and be too dense to understand it."

"You're pretty dense too," Natsu muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"The real question is," Lucy started. "Who is she going to end up going for?"

"Huh?" Natsu asked, clearly confused. "What do you mean by who she's gonna go for?"

"Nashi is clearly very attractive. She got her looks from me," Lucy explained.

Natsu gave his wife a less than amused expression. "Right."

"And she has an amazing personality. Again, from me."

"Actually, I'm thinking-"

"Plus, she doesn't dress the most _modest_ way I've seen other girls her age dress."

"That's definitely from you."

Lucy ignored that. "There are bound to be many guys that come and go in her life. She's just too likeable."

"Okie now I'm scared." Natsu threw his head back and sighed. "I solemnly swear that I'll never get involved in any of this nonsense."

"It isn't nonsense!" Lucy protested. "Nashi's eighteen! She's a legal adult now, and we have no more right over any of her future choices! She's all on her own now, and the best we can do is to hope she keeps listening to us."

"Yeah yeah," Natsu muttered. "I gotcha."

"Anyway, I'm sure she'll either end up with Lyon's son or Gray's son."

"Lyon's son? You mean Tagg?" Natsu asked. Lucy nodded. "Why him? Why would you even mention him, since he obviously isn't a candidate for any o' this."

Lucy almost slapped herself. "You really are the most unaware and dense person I know."

"I'm aware of a lot of things! Like how this place is-" Natsu stopped. His eyes widened in shock as he realized what he was about to say. His mouth opened and closed over and over, trying to form words. "I… uh… guh."

Lucy noticed his behavior. She walked up to him from behind and enclosed him in a tight hug. "I know," she mumbled quietly. "I know, Natsu."

"Luce, what are we gonna do?" Natsu asked softly, looking down at his feet. "What _can_ we do anyway?"

"Hope for the best," was Lucy's reply. "I don't know how this happened, but it's best for everything to settle down slowly. We need time. Fairy Tail needs time. We need to give the money time to come in, and when it does, we'll march right there to America and demand they make your restaurant a hub in their care."

"Where's all that jewel gonna come from?" Natsu asked, turning to face the blonde. "Huh? Where is it gonna come from?"

Lucy gaped at him. "I… we can advertise! We can make sure Fairy Tail gets enough customers! We can lower the prices!"

"You know we can't do that," Natsu said, shaking his head. "It's impossible for the prices to go down more than this. I'm trying to get our old regular customers to give people this place as a recommendation, but one look at the reviews and they all turn away."

"Damn those critics…" Lucy muttered, clenching her fists. "I feel like this is my fault."

Natsu's head snapped up to look at her. "What? Why?"

"You've had to close the restaurant for personal business so many times since I came back all those years ago. It's partially my fault, and you can't even deny it," Lucy said, playing with her fingers. "I don't even have the right to apologize. You stopped making money because of me."

Natsu's teeth clenched in annoyance. "Stop. That isn't true."

"Yes it is!" Lucy replied, exasperated. "If I just hadn't allowed you to do something like that… maybe we wouldn't be in this kind of position right now."

"This position is all thanks to my stupidity," Natsu said. "Ya' can't blame yourself for this, Luce."

"What about the food? Maybe we can hire new chefs?"

"They won't even come close to how Ro was," Natsu said quietly. He looked away. "Even though I was the one who encouraged him to leave, sometimes I wish he didn't listen to me."

"And then all of our best waiters left too," Lucy muttered. "They all moved on with their lives. Now Ro and Saran are married and expecting their first child!"

"Ikki and Yule got engaged recently too, right?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah. I got an email from Ikki a few days ago announcing the news," Lucy said. "I'm happy for them, I really am. But I'm also sad for us."

"Yeah…"

Lucy then took on a determined look in her eyes. "You know what… maybe I should go back to being a waitress at another restaurant for a bit. I have the credentials and I'm very-"

"No way," Natsu cut in immediately. "You never really enjoyed it. You liked working as a manager because of the people there. And because it wasn't a waiter job."

"Yeah, but-"

"You like writing, Luce," Natsu said with a smile. "Don't give up your passion for something like money."

"We need the money, Natsu," Lucy said firmly. "Nashi's going to school across the country soon and we need to be able to pay for it."

"We can just borrow money from someone and pay them back later," Natsu reasoned.

"I'm not going to take money from anyone! That's wrong, and you know it!" Lucy said, now breathing heavily. "Look, we can check the balance in the bank tonight. With how much ever we have left from the monthly income, we can then decide our next move, okay?"

"Fine," Natsu murmured, closing his eyes and looking away. "But when it comes to money, let go of your pride and just ask for it. I know our friends will be more than willing to help."

"No, I won't do it," Lucy said. "I'll write. I'll write a lot."

"What?"

"I'll release my next book this month, instead of three months from now."

Natsu's eyes snapped open. "What?! But you're not even finished with it yet!"

"I know," Lucy nodded. "But the sooner I release it, the sooner we can get our hands on some jewel."

Natsu bit his lip.

"What if we don't have enough?" he asked quietly, as if scared to know the answer.

Lucy hung her head low. "I don't know, Natsu. I don't know."

Suddenly, the front doors to the restaurant opened. Natsu and Lucy turned to see Gray, Juvia, and Lyon standing in the doorway. A tall green-haired boy was behind them, looking at something incredulously on his phone. He instantly broke away from the other three adults and marched straight to Lucy.

"Aunt Lucy," he started boldly, showing her his screen. "What is the meaning of this?"

Lucy looked at what he was showing her, and rolled her eyes with a secret smile. It was the picture of Storm. The same picture that Nashi had taken a few hours ago.

"Storm and Nashi went out a little while ago, Tagg," Lucy informed him as if it explained everything. "Don't worry. They should be back soon enough."

Tagg Vastia's eyes narrowed. "What happened to the whole 'Trio of Friendos' thing we established? Not cool."

"Are you sure that's the only reason you're upset?" Lucy asked again, lifting her eyebrows into a smug smirk.

Tagg's mouth opened and closed a few times. "That… that has nothing to do with anything!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air in a defensive air, turning around quickly and waving to his father once. "I'm going out for a bit, Dad. See ya'."

"Be back in time for lunch," Lyon chuckled, turning back to the others. "How are you, Lucy?"

"Well enough," Lucy replied vaguely.

"Do you know where Storm and Nashi went exactly, Lucy-chan?" Juvia asked. "Juvia doesn't want them out by themselves in the city."

"They'll be fine, Juvia," Gray said with a dismissive nod. "Don't worry. They're old enough to be on their own now."

"Juvia supposes…"

"Anyway," Gray started again, turning to Natsu. "Did you close the restaurant again today, Natsu?"

Natsu looked stricken for just a fraction of a second, before his face evened out into a grin. No one could tell it was forced, though, and Natsu was pleased with that fact in mind.

"Yeah," he said shortly, turning to Lucy and taking her hand. "Let's go into the kitchen. I wanna finish preparing lunch before everyone else arrives."

"Alright," Lucy said, leaving the other three behind in the main area and following the pinkette into the secluded room. Natsu closed the door before giving his wife a disgruntled look.

"I hate lying to them."

Lucy quickly looked away. "Tonight," she said softly. "Tonight we'll see our balance and then plan our next move."

…

Storm and Nashi exited the ice cream shop with big grins on their faces. Nashi sported her three layered strawberry cone, while Storm had settled for caramel. Their faces were red from all the running, and their adrenaline pumped up to the max.

"I totally beat you on that last leg of the race," Storm said, still panting for breath.

"Oh yeah, you wish," Nashi rolled her eyes. "I think we can both agree that it was me who won."

Storm grumbled something under his breath, deciding to ignore her comment and keep walking. The two of them stayed in silence for a little while, munching on their treats and looking around at the sights to see.

"It's been a while since I've got to just walk through town like this," Storm commented off-handedly. Nashi could tell he had officially let go of his whole facade and was acting completely himself.

Storm didn't usually let go of himself, but when he did, it was only with people he truly trusted. He appeared tsundere and arrogant from the outside, but Nashi knew that in reality, the raven-haired boy was actually a really sweet guy.

Not that she'd ever admit that to his face, of course.

"Yeah same," she said, licking a bit off her cone and glancing up at him. Although she was two years older, Storm would forever be taller than her.

"So this is where you two were," a new voice cut in. Both Nashi and Storm turned to see Tagg leaning against the wall of a building. His arms were crossed and he was wearing an annoyed expression.

"Tagg?" Nashi questioned just as Storm yelled, "Tagg?!"

"You two seem surprised to see me," Tagg said in a low voice. "I don't know whether to be relieved, angry or sad."

"We're not surprised!" Nashi said quickly. "I thought you were arriving a little later, that's all."

"Actually, Dad and I came right on time," Tagg said stiffly, checking his watch. He eyed the two of them curiously. "You two look… weird."

"Mm?" Storm said, his mind still wandering off somewhere else.

"You both are out of breath," Tagg noticed.

Nashi blinked. "Yeah?"

"Your faces are red," Tagg continued, looking at them thoughtfully.

"Mm," Storm mumbled.

"You're also standing incredibly close to each other," Tagg said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at both of them. "Is there something I should know?"

Nashi immediately jumped away from Storm. "What?!" she screeched. "Don't be silly! As if I'd ever do anything like that with _him_."

Storm snorted as well. "Please, Tagg, be reasonable."

Tagg then proceeded to double over in laughter. "Oh don't be so serious," he chuckled. "Even I know something like that's completely impossible! What do you take me as? Some sort of _baka_?"

Storm didn't look too amused. "Yes, actually. We do."

"Oi! I thought we were a Friendo Trio?" Tagg said, looking aghast. "Don't tell me this friendship was too good to be true!"

Storm scoffed again, looking back at Nashi one last time before going up to pat Tagg's shoulder. "As if I could ever be in any kind of friendship group with her," he said in an almost mocking way.

Ouch. Nashi felt his words sting painfully in her stomach. "Remember, don't be too rude," she said in an attempt to laugh it off. She shuffled her feet from underneath her body, not making eye contact with both of the teenagers. She then rolled her eyes, wondering why she was taking this so seriously. This was Storm, after all. And by the looks of it, he had reverted back to his original self.

Nashi always wondered why he didn't let go in front of Tagg, especially when he and his father decided to permanently move to Magnolia to stay closer to everyone. Though it was a little hard on Lyon, since he now had to keep up with a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend who was still living in Acalypha for work purposes, Tagg was more than willing to make the move. After all, he had made a lot of friends during his first stay in Magnolia.

"Come on, y'all," Nashi said quickly, holding out her hand for them to take it. They each grabbed a finger, grinning heartily at her. "The day's still fresh, and we still have a few hours till lunchtime!"

"I passed by this amazing new tourist souvenir shop while I was looking for you guys," Tagg said casually. "Wanna go check it out?"

"Yes!" Nashi said, laughing as Tagg offered her his elbow. She gladly took it, skipping lightly in her place and grabbing onto Storm's arm from behind her. "Come on, Storm!"

"Fine, fine," Storm said, trying his hardest to hide a smile. He failed wholeheartedly, finally giving into his emotions and laughing alongside his friends.

The three of them made their way through the town, blissfully unaware of what was going on back at the restaurant.

…

"I just put Igor to bed," Lucy said, walking downstairs and into the living room where her husband was sitting, staring at the closed laptop on the ottoman. She grimaced as she saw Natsu's head in his hands, mumbling something to himself. "Are you alright?"

"Is Nashi asleep yet?" Nastu asked, completely ignoring her question.

"She told me that she wanted to get a headstart on some of the summer work she was assigned," Lucy informed. "She won't come back downstairs for the rest of the night."

"Okay good," Natsu said, exhaling slowly and going back to looking at the laptop. "God dammit I can't look at it."

"It's okay," Lucy comforted him softly, rubbing his shoulder and taking the laptop into her own hands. She opened it, going over to the internet application and typing in their bank's URL address.

"Luce, I'm scared," Natsu whispered, his fingers shaking unevenly as he tried to calm himself down. "What if we don't have enough profit to afford any new renovations? I even have to pay the rent for the restaurant in a few days."

"There should still be enough for all of that," Lucy said, logging into their bank account. "We still need to see how much we have. How many customers have we gotten in the past week?"

"None," Natsu said, his voice beginning to crack. "Not a single damn person."

Lucy inwardly gulped, typing something on the keys of the computer and clicking a few buttons using the wireless mouse on the sofa. "How much did we have left after last week's renovations?"

"Just a couple thousand," Natsu whispered, the reality of the situation beginning to dawn on him. "And then I had to buy new ingredients because all the ones we had went bad since no one came and ate them."

"It should still leave us with a bit," Lucy said, hovering her mouse over the 'Check Balance' option. "Three… two… one…"

Lucy clicked the button, the loading symbol on the page vanishing and reappearing after a few seconds. Both she and Natsu held their breath, waiting for the jewel amount to show up.

When it appeared after a few refreshes, both of them blinked at the number.

A big fat zero.


	2. Chapter 2

Nashi was tired. Her fingers ached from typing on her computer so much, and her head was spinning around in a never-ending path of circles. She groaned, throwing her head onto her desk and sighing deeply.

"I hate homework…" she muttered under her breath, looking back up to her screen and wincing as the bright light stung her eyes. "I'm so done with all of this… I just wanna go to sleep, and eat food for the rest of my life. Why can't eating be an assignment? At least it wouldn't take me forever to complete it."

She shook her head, shooing such thoughts out of her brain and focusing back at her document template outline. She inched her fingers forward, trying desperately to click a key but failing with every attempt.

Nashi sighed, shutting her computer down and getting up to stretch. She spared a glance towards the large wall clock in her room, her eyes widening as she noticed the time. It was almost midnight, and she hadn't even gotten through a single page of her work.

Deciding to leave it off till the next morning, she reached for her cup that was initially filled with water. Her eyebrows lifted as she noticed that there was nothing left inside. Nashi scoffed, blaming anyone but herself for this small dilemma.

She quietly picked up the glass, inching out of her room, careful not to make a lot of noise in case she would wake up Igor. She tip-toed towards the stairs, making her way down. Her parents were probably already asleep by now… but-

Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother's voice. It sounded like she was… crying?

What.

"Natsu… Natsu…" Lucy was saying. Nashi's eyes widened as she recognized the state her mom was in. Either she was extremely sad, or extremely happy. Oh how Nashi hoped it was the latter option.

"I… I dunno what I'm gonna do now," her father's voice cut in. "I honestly don't have a clue anymore."

Nashi quickly peeked into the living room to see her parents on the couch. Her father was sitting upright, stroking her mother's hair as her head laid on his lap. Lucy was crying, and Natsu looked completely stricken.

"We.. I knew it was bad," Lucy started again. "I just never expected it to be like this."

Be like _what_? What were they talking about?

"Damn it," Natsu muttered, shaking his head feverishly and looking away. "Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit."

"What's going to happen now?" Lucy asked quietly, her eyes closing as Natsu continued to comfort her. "Should we tell everyone? What will they even say if they find out?"

"They'll be so disappointed," Natsu said. "I don't wanna see that look on Gray's face. That face that tells me he knows I screwed up."

"We screwed up," Lucy muttered. "I think we both know that."

"We… I tried," Natsu said quietly.

Nashi was beyond confused by now. What was going on? Why were her parents acting like this? She had _never_ seen her father lose himself like he was right now. It seemed so awkward and unnatural for a person like him.

"Well you didn't try hard enough!"

Natsu and Nashi both blinked at the blonde, who had now heaved herself up and was staring at her husband with an intense gaze.

"What?" Natsu asked.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had taken this business more seriously!" Lucy screeched.

"What, is it my fault that we've gone bankrupt?" Natsu snarled, making Nashi inwardly gasp.

"Bankrupt…" she whispered ever so quietly. "Bankrupt…"

"I never said that!" Lucy said, pointing her index finger to Natsu's face. "I'm just saying that this would not have ended up happening if you hadn't been so careless with something like renovations!"

"Those were needed!" Natsu finally retorted, getting up out of his chair to come face to face with her. "How could Fairy Tail have been recognized without them?!"

"Well they definitely didn't come very handy in the end, did they?" Lucy said in a deadly voice. "Face it. You know this is all your fault. If only you had been a little more careful!"

"I was careful!" Natsu persisted. "I was so careful, Lucy! This is not my fault! We both worked our hearts and souls into this business! You can't just blame me for something like this! It was an accident!"

"Why couldn't you just see that your restaurant was perfect just the way it was?!" Lucy said, tears beginning to form around her eyes. Natsu hadn't called her 'Lucy' in years. It had always been 'Luce', or some other nickname that suggested closeness.

"It wasn't, though!"

"Yes, it was," Lucy said, advancing forward till their noses were touching. Nashi couldn't help but cringe at her tone. "It was a place where families could come and have a meal. It was a place where friends could come to hang out. It was a place where all the staff felt completely at home and safe in this environment!"

"Oh don't go quoting Tofu on me!"

"Tofuya was right, though!" Lucy yelled, throwing her hands into the air. "He was completely right! He told me that you would get caught up in becoming number one! He predicted all of this!"

"Why are you siding with Tofu?" Natsu said. "I'm your husband! You're supposed to support me with things like this!"

"I never said I didn't support you!" Lucy said. "Of course I support you! But I don't support your ingenious spur of the moment decisions!"

"The renovations were needed," Natsu said quietly. "Without them, I'd never even get a chance at becoming a chained franchise."

"Yes you would!" Lucy replied almost instantly. "You didn't need fancy things like the other restaurants had! Fairy Tail was so amazing back then! And now look at it! We can't even get a single customer because you've had to raise the prices so much to get an income! We even have to lie to our friends about this! To our own _kids_!"

Nashi was holding her breath. Her mind was completely blank as it refused to accept any of this information.

"Do you think I _like_ lying to everyone?" Natsu started again. "Do ya' honestly think I enjoy seeing everyone still be happy for us, when I know it's a lost cause?"

"We have to tell them the truth," Lucy said. "We have to. I can't tell any more lies to anyone anymore. I'm so through with all of this."

"They'll shun us for it."

"Maybe so."

' _No they won't…'_ Nashi instantly thought. ' _Of course they won't… of course we won't. We're your family.'_

"They'll hate us for it."

"I'll hate you for it."

Natsu bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Lucy."

Lucy looked away. "Don't," she warned. "I… I'm going out for a while."

"Yeah."

"Don't expect me back anytime soon."

"Yeah."

' _No stop!'_ Nashi's mind was yelling, watching as her mother grabbed her things and made for the exit. ' _Mom! Don't go! No! Stop!'_

Once Lucy was gone, Nashi turned back to where her father was standing. She saw him shuffle his feet, his eyes darting back and forth, trying to figure out what to do now that his wife was gone for the night. She saw him sigh, clearly giving up, before retreating to his and Lucy's room.

No.

No.

No.

Nashi couldn't take this anymore.

She quickly ran back upstairs, throwing a few clothes into her purse and grabbing her phone. She whisked a piece of paper and a pen into her hands, quickly penning a note to her parents.

 _Call Uncle Gray._

 _-Nashi_

Then, she ran to the window, sticking it on with a measly piece of tape and opening the latch. She stared down at the small platform on the road behind her house, taking a deep breath before leaping off the ledge.

She landed with a thud, quickly making a break for the first place that came to mind.

…

"Open up… open up open up open up…" Nashi kept muttering, constantly ringing the doorbell to the large house in front of her. "Come on… come on come on!"

Suddenly, the door creaked open, revealing the dishevelled figure of a sixteen-year-old raven-haired boy. Storm rubbed his eyes, yawning before looking down at the pinkette.

"Nash?" he questioned, his voice suggesting that he had just woken up. "What're ya' doing here?"

"Can I come in," Nashi said, in a more demanding voice than necessary.

"It's like one o'clock," Storm said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, so? Can I come in."

"Whatever."

Nashi strode into the room, looking around once before her eyes landed on the sleeping figure of her other friend. Tagg's hair was messy and all over the place. His body was sprawled across the couch as Storm walked up to him and bonked him on the head.

"Psst," Storm hissed. "Wake up!"

Tagg stirred, his eyes opening just a fraction. Just enough to see Nashi standing there looking more tired than ever.

"Whaa…?" he said, rubbing his eyes and looking at Nashi curiously. "Nashi? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same to you," Nashi said, her voice shaking ever so slightly.

"Uncle Lyon and my parents went out to some bar for the night," Storm explained, taking a seat on the opposite couch. "I doubt they'll be back till morning, so I invited Tagg over just for the heck of it."

"Right," Nashi said.

"So what's up?" Tagg said, now fully awake and aware of his surroundings. He looked at Nashi with a peculiar gaze. "You look like you're about to burst."

"I am," Nashi said truthfully, catching Storm's gaze before completely breaking down. She leaned forwards without knowing what she was doing, unable to stop herself from falling into Storm's embrace where she let herself go, tears streaming down her face as she wept silently.

"Woah," Storm said, his eyes widening as he realized what Nashi had just done. "What happened to you?"

Tagg looked mildly irritated by this sudden turn of events, but settled for taking Nashi's free hand and rubbing it gently. He then turned to Storm with an accusing glare.

"Idiot! Don't you know anything about treating a woman properly?" he scolded his younger cousin. "You're supposed to handle her with care and love! Not be so rude about it!"

"Chill out, Tagg," Storm said with his own glare. "I was just asking her what happened."

Nashi, who was trying to control her rage at the two boys, looked up from Storm's chest and sighed.

"I just… I overheard a conversation between my parents a little while ago," she started bitterly. She then lowered her head to rest on Storm's shoulder, while her body was still in his lap.

"Uh…" Storm tried, appearing completely violated as Nashi selfishly invaded his personal space. "Can you… like, not be so…"

"Oh bear with me for once, will you?" Nashi said, shooting him another glare before settling back down in his hold.

"What were they talking about?" Tagg asked, deciding to ignore their internal battle. Nashi froze for just a second, trying to figure out what to say.

"I… I don't know if I can tell you," she said honestly. "I don't mean that in a rude way, it's just that I actually don't know."

"That's ridiculous," Tagg said instantly. "I mean, if you're gonna come and see us because you're feeling sad, you might as well tell us why. It's only fair."

"Let it go, Tagg," Storm said. "We can't force her to tell us. She'll tell us if she wants to."

"Hmph."

"Besides, she didn't come to see _you_ ," Storm continued wickedly. "If I recall correctly, this is my house."

"Uh… I…" Tagg said, while Nashi's face took on a bright red hue. "Oi!"

"It isn't like that!" Nashi said instantly, backing away from Storm and looking between the two boys with furious stares. "I don't like any of you! You guys are the worst! Why are we even friends?!"

"Because you love us," Tagg teased.

Nashi snorted, momentarily forgetting about her troubles. "Yeah. That's totally it," she said in a sarcastic tone.

Tagg then looked longingly back at the couch. "Well, if you're not gonna tell us, can I go back to sleeping?" he said, not bothering to wait for an answer and curling up underneath the blanket. "G'night, Friendos."

Then, he closed his eyes, but sleep didn't come to him.

Meanwhile, Nashi and Storm had fallen into an uncomfortable silence. Nashi looked down as Storm appeared to be mentally deciding what to do next.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he suddenly asked, surprising everyone; especially Tagg, who both of them thought was sleeping.

"No," Nashi decided to answer truthfully. "No, I'm really not."

"Oh," Storm said awkwardly. "Do you want me to do anything about it?"

"Storm, my mom and dad ran out of money."

Storm blinked.

The room fell into a deadly silence.

"They… what?"

"I walked in on them fighting," Nashi continued. "Apparently Dad was being reckless about the expenses and went overboard. Now there isn't any profit being made by the restaurant."

"They were fighting?"

"It got bad."

"How bad?"

"Mom left for the night."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Storm looked at her uncomfortably. The two didn't notice Tagg's breathing becoming uneven.

"Do you… need to cry?" Storm asked, before adding, "again?"

"No. I think I mentally ran out of tears," Nashi said.

Storm gulped. "Stay here for the night," he said in an attempt to be comforting. It worked.

"Okay."

"You can sleep in my room."

"Okay."

"Sylvia's already sleeping in her room."

"Okay."

"I'll sleep out here."

"Okay."

"Goodnight," the two said simultaneously. They blinked a few times, staring at each other before awkwardly looking away.

"Hey, Nash?" Storm said suddenly, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Yeah?" Nashi responded.

"Just in case you didn't know… I consider you as my friend, okay?"

Nashi couldn't help but smile at that.

"I know. I do too."

And while all of this was going on, Tagg was busy thinking to himself.

Mostly about how Nashi went to Storm about everything first before he got a chance to even utter a single word.

He wanted to know why.

…

"Yes, she's right here. Lyon, Juvia and I came back this morning to find her sleeping in Storm's room," Gray was saying into his phone, looking down at the figures of his son and nephew who were both sprawled across the couches. "No. None of them are awake now. No, I don't know. Okay. I'll tell you when they wake up. Okay. Mhm. Sure. Okay bye." He pressed the 'end call' button and awkwardly looked at his wife who was busy making breakfast.

"Was that Lucy-chan?" she asked once she saw that Gray had hung up. "Was she calling to see where Nashi was?"

"Actually, that was Natsu," Gray said, sighing. "I don't think Lucy was there, and Natsu wouldn't tell me anything."

"Juvia hopes nothing bad happened," Juvia said quietly. "Juvia knows that they have been having some bad times, even if she doesn't know what exactly is happening."

"I know something's been going on," Gray said. "I just have no clue what it is. Natsu won't tell me a thing."

"Stress?"

"I guess."

"Good morning, Mother, Father," a new voice said. Gray and Juvia turned to see their daughter standing in the doorway, rubbing her eyes softly. Sylvia looked into the living room where Storm and Tagg still resided. She raised a confused eyebrow. "Why is Nii-chan sleeping here?"

"That's because Nashi's sleeping in his room," Gray explained with a tired expression. "Apparently she came over really late last night and crashed here with the boys."

"Oh," Sylvia said. "Can I wake them up?"

"Go right ahead," Gray said, sighing deeply again. He watched as his daughter crept up to Storm, quickly leaning back before pouncing onto him.

"WAKE UP, NII-CHAN!" she yelled, flailing her arms around and wiggling about. She was then thrown off of the boy, watching in surprise as he lept off the couch and got into a fighting stance.

"You wanna fight, mate- Oh. It's just you, Sylvia."

"Who were you expecting?" Sylvia asked.

"Probably Tagg or Nashi or someone," Storm said, letting go of his guard and sitting back down on the couch. "This place is a mess," he commented.

"Yeah, wonder how that happened," Gray said sarcastically as Juvia tried to smother her laughs.

"Juvia has to ask you a question, Storm," Juvia said, walking up to him. "Why was Nashi sleeping in your room?"

"Oh," Storm said dumbly. "Right. She came over last night for… a sleepover."

"A sleepover," Gray repeated.

"Yes, a sleepover," Storm said, but with more certainty this time. "I forgot to tell you about it."

"A sleepover," Gray said again.

"Yes, Dad, a sleepover," Storm replied.

"Morning," Tagg said, stirring before lifting himself off the couch next to Storm's. "What's going on?"

"Storm was just telling me about the sleepover," Gray said, his eyes not leaving Storm.

"Sleepover?" Tagg sleepily questioned. "What sleepover?"

"You idiot!" Storm screeched. "Can't you just go with anything I say? You're so annoying!"

"What? What did I do?" Tagg questioned, rubbing his eyes and looking around. "I don't remember anything about a sleepover."

"Right," Gray said. "Now would one of you like to tell me what's actually going on here?"

"Okay, well, Nashi came over last night and wanted to stay over," Tagg cut in. "Storm told her to sleep in his room, and she did. That's all."

"Is that really all?"

"Yes!"

Suddenly, the door creaked open, revealing a tall girl wearing her clothes from last night. Her hair was dishevelled and her eyes had dark bags underneath them. Her t-shirt was crumpled slightly and her shorts had risen a little too high, making Gray instantly look at his son with a smirk of his own. Juvia also looked over, wondering what his reaction would be in seeing the half-dressed girl in the hallway.

Storm looked at her with indifference, much to both of their surprise, while Tagg's face heated up almost instantly.

"Morning, Nash," Storm said, offering her a wave and going into the kitchen where his mom was still standing. "Want some cereal?"

"Storm! You unemotional piece of camembert!" Tagg said, throwing him a glare. "You're supposed to be a teenage boy!"

"What do you mean?" Storm asked, confused. "And just for the record, I'm not some filthy piece of stinky cheese."

"Aghhh nothing," Tagg said, shaking his head and avoiding Nashi's gaze.

"What?" she asked, also a little confused, though she got the general gist of what was going on. She sighed, turning away and ignoring their stares. "What's for breakfast?"

"Not so fast," Gray said, walking up to the girl and putting his hands on her shoulders. "I want to know why you're here in the first place, if you don't mind."

"Oh," Nashi said, giving Storm and Tagg both a quick glance. "Uh… sleepover."

She barely could make out the fist pump Storm had just punched into the air.

"Sleepover, huh?" Gray said, sighing and pushing his hair back. "You know what, I give up. I don't even know. Enjoy your day, kids." And with that, he turned and disappeared into his room. Juvia followed closely behind him, leaving the four others alone in the living room.

"Good morning, Nashi-chan!" Sylvia said happily, blissfully unaware of the boys' mental dilemma. Nashi grinned, giving the younger girl a thumbs up and a wink.

"Same to you, Sylvia!"

"Wanna do something today?" Tagg asked casually. "We can get the others together too."

"Jay-kun?" Sylvia questioned innocently.

Storm rolled his eyes. "Yes, Sylv. Even your boyfriend."

"H-he's not my… boyfriend."

"Right."

"Anyway," Nashi cut in roughly, giving Storm a meaningful look. "I kinda actually wanted to talk to everyone about something. You know, about what I told you last night?"

Tagg immediately started looking at his feet, suddenly finding them very fascinating.

"Okay," Storm agreed. "We can get a few others together."

"Who?" Tagg asked.

"The four of us, and maybe Lester?" Nashi asked, looking thoughtful.

"Jay-kun?" Sylvia spoke up, which made Nashi laugh quietly.

"Sure," she agreed. "Jay too."

"Can we not get Velza?" Storm asked, rubbing his head. "I like him and all… but when he and Jay are together, they just never stop fighting."

"It can be a bit annoying at times," Tagg agreed.

"Okay," Nashi nodded. "We won't ask Velza. I don't think he'd be very mature about this topic either."

"What topic?" Sylvia asked.

"Nothing," Nashi shook her head. "I'm going to go get ready."

"Are you going home?" Tagg asked, looking up at the pinkette with curious eyes. Of course, he knew already the entire situation, but he decided to play along anyway. Maybe that way Nashi would come to trust him more.

Nashi's eyes widened. She didn't answer, currently remembering what had happened between her parents the previous night.

She had never seen them fight like that before. To be honest, Nashi couldn't remember the last time that had a real fight _at all_. Natsu and Lucy didn't fight often. It just wasn't their thing. Sure, they teased each other, and annoyed each other, but they had never fought like that before.

And now that they had, it scared the living crap out of Nashi.

* * *

 **What's up my friendos.**

 **Sooo we have a bit of rising action, eh? If I'm being honest, I really wanna get the prelude out of the way so I can get to writing the main plot line. Which won't be for another couple chapters. Then again, I still haven't planned how all of this is gonna work... so yeah. Wish me luck!**

 **A bit of a filler chapter... but we're getting into the gist of things.**

 **Thanks for reading! Hope ya' enjoyed! (Don't forget to *cough* tell me what you *cough* think!)**


	3. Chapter 3

Nashi took a moment to stare at the five other people sitting around her. She looked between them all, before her eyes stared at Storm, looking for some form of encouragement, since to her knowledge, he was the only one who knew about what she wanted to talk about.

Storm could offer a small smile of support, but he knew that Nashi needed her own time to spill this to her friends. No matter how close they all were, sometimes they all required their own personal space. Like Nashi now, for instance. Tagg, however, didn't say anything.

"What's this about?" Jay asked,, looking at the pinkette in confusion. "Why did you call us here so secretively?"

"I'm wondering that too," Lester said, crossing his arms. "I was in the middle of a date with my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend, huh?" Tagg snickered. "You mean that girl you're always talking to online?"

"How long have you two been a thing?" Jay asked curiously. "I don't really know much about her, after all. When can we meet her?"

"How about we let Lester meet her first," Tagg snickered. "Because if I can guess correctly, you haven't even met the girl before, right?"

"That may be true," Lester said, crossing his arms. "But what I feel for her is real."

"Alright then. Quiz," Sylvia said with a very uncharacteristic smirk painted on her face. "Where does she live?"

"America."

"What's her favorite food?"

"Chinese noodles."

"What does she do?"

"She's a tourguide."

"How old is she?"

"My age. Twenty."

"Well you're definitely informed," Storm whistled. "What's her name?"

"I don't know," Lester said, as if unfazed by this fact. "We haven't told each other our names yet."

"Why not?" Nashi asked, her interest suddenly spiked. "If you're dating, you might as well know each other's names, right?"

"I suppose," Lester sighed. "But it really isn't necessary. We just call each other by our online pseudonyms. She's Smith and I'm Drey."

"That's literally just a shortened version of your last name," Jay said, unamused.

"I think we've just gone a bit off topic," Storm muttered, turning back to Nashi. "Wasn't Nashi trying to tell us something?"

"Uh… right," Nashi said, nervously playing with her hair.

"Go ahead," Tagg encouraged.

"Uh…"

She was shaking.

"Hm?" Jay said, looking back at her.

"I… I overheard my parents talking about something," Nashi started softly. "It was about Fairy Tail, actually."

"What about it?" Lester asked curiously.

Nashi gulped. "It seems like… it seems like my father and mother are in big trouble."

"Trouble?" Jay questioned. "What does that mean?"

"It means they're in really really big trouble," Nashi muttered, crossing her arms. "Everyone needs to promise not to freak out."

"Alright," everyone agreed.

"Myparentsarebankrupt," Nashi said quickly, closing her eyes tightly and waiting for everyone to start screaming.

Unfortunately, Sylvia was the only one who seemed to make sense of what she had just said. The younger girl gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as she backed away in shock.

The boys, though, raised confused eyebrows.

"What was that?" Jay asked, looking at Sylvia with a weird expression.

"My parents…" Nashi started again, "went… bank...rupt."

"What?" Lester said, his eyes widening. Jay's head cocked back and Sylvia turned away.

"I'm not _repeating it again_ ," Nashi hissed. Lester gulped. He looked down at his fingers, beginning to play around with them since he didn't know what to say. The other's weren't any better. Even Tagg, who already knew.

"Are you…?" Storm started, beginning to raise his hand to put on her shoulder, but thought better of it at the last second. "Nevermind."

"That's not possible," Lester finally said, his fists clenching. "That isn't even remotely true. You're just playing some kind of sick joke on us, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not," Nashi said, her eyes narrowing at the older blonde. "You're not making this any easier, you know."

"But, it's _Natsu_ ," Jay insisted. "That can't happen to him!"

"Well, it did," Nashi said.

"She isn't lying, guys," Tagg said, shooting both the boys a glare. "Stop that."

"Nashi-chan, Sylvia is sorry," Sylvia said quietly, crawling up to the pinkette and proceeding to envelope her in a tight hug.

Jay crossed his arms underneath his chest, and Lester just stared wide-eyed at Nashi.

"No," Lester said, standing up to his feet and looking down at the girl. "No way. We have to do something about this."

"It's too late," Nashi said, shaking her head. "From what I heard, there isn't anything they can do about it. They used up all their money with all the renovations that have been going on."

"What's their goal?" Lester questioned.

"They want to become a chain, right?" Storm cut in, looking at Nashi for approval. She nodded.

"Yes."

"Do you know the company they're going for?" Lester asked again.

"No," Nashi said. "I could probably find out, though."

"No need," Lester said, reaching into his back pocket and taking out his phone. The others watched in complete silence as he typed several things before nodding firmly. "I've got it."

"What?" everyone else asked.

"What are you doing?" Tagg asked.

"It's probably this one," Lester said, holding out the device and showing it to everyone. There was an unfamiliar website pulled up.

"What is it?" Nashi questioned, reaching out and taking the cell. "This is…"

"A very famed company that specializes in these things," Lester nodded. "That's right. _Flam & Tee Restaurants_. My money's on the fact that your parents are aiming to impress these guys."

"What are you saying?" Nashi asked. All eyes were now on Lester, whose gaze didn't falter from the girl in front of him. They watched in awe as his expression broke into a giant grin.

"This company's headquarters are in America," he started slowly. "California, to be precise."

"Yeah, and?" Nashi asked.

"They're looking for determined and reliable restaurants to help build up into a franchise," Lester continued.

"I don't know what you're saying," Nashi said, still very confused.

"We need to show them that your father's restaurant is worth investing in. Natsu has shown nothing but determination throughout his business, and he's very prideful with his work."

"I get it," Sylvia said, getting up too and walking up to the two of them. "You're suggesting that we go to America and _show_ them that we're worth it."

Everyone blinked.

They stared at the blue-haired girl in shock.

"Actually," Lester started with a cough. "I was going to say that we should just send them a professional email. But that works too!"

Nashi facepalmed. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Of course not!" Lester said. "I mean, why not? You, Tagg and I are legally old enough. We can act as chaperones for everyone else! You take Sylvia, Tagg takes Storm, and I'll take Jay. It's perfect!"

"Lester, you have a few screws loose. You too, Sylvia," Jay began. "We could never pull something like that off. Our parents would never allow it!"

"We could always make up some kind of excuse," Tagg shrugged, beginning to fall with the flow of this idea. "I'm sure it won't be too big of a deal."

"What kind of excuse?" Nashi asked slowly.

"Hmm…" Storm thought. "Some kind of school trip?"

"That could work," Sylvia nodded. "Lester can write up official papers to make it look like it's a real thing. One of the circumstances could be that everyone attending can take a friend along."

"That's smart," Storm said. "Sylvia, Jay and I all go to Magnolia High. Nashi and Tagg graduated this year. Sylvia can ask to take Nashi, I can ask to take Tagg, and Jay can ask to take Lester."

"Yes!" Sylvia cheered. The pair of siblings raised their fists to give each other a bump. They grinned heavily.

"I… I guess," Jay said, crossing his arms. "Should we tell anyone about it?"

"No," Lester said. "Let's keep this completely to ourselves. We wouldn't want to cause any sort of trouble."

"America, huh?" Tagg whistled. "You might bump into your girlie."

Lester smiled softly. "Maybe."

"When are we gonna do this?" Jay questioned, still looking a little doubtful.

"I don't care! We're totally getting this done!" Nashi cheered happily. "I'm gonna make sure Fairy Tail doesn't close down!"

"We can leave within a few weeks if everything goes to plan," Lester said, turning to Jay with a nod. "We can't get interrupted during this, though. It's going to take a lot of planning and careful consideration. I'll get to work on the forms right away. Everyone start looking for your identification and passports. Begin to tell your families about the trip, so it doesn't come as a total surprise to them when we give them the forms. Nashi and Tagg, you guys begin to look through the flight times and cost rates. Find the best deal you can, okay?"

"Got it," Nashi and Tagg said with a nod. They turned to each other with wicked grins.

"This is going to be epic," Storm said with a smirk. "We're gonna make sure this happens perfectly."

"How long are we gonna stay in America for?" Jay asked.

"About a month," Lester replied. "We're going to need at least a week to go through all the processing information. The other time is for fun."

"You've really thought about this haven't you," Nashi said, clearly impressed. "And in such a short amount of time, too."

"What can I say?" Lester said modestly. "I'm really excited for this. We're totally going to show those people a taste of Japanese culture."

A realization then dawned upon everyone.

"Uh… does anyone here know how to speak English?" Jay asked.

Everyone but Sylvia and Jay raised their hands. They looked at each other expectantly, while the others gave them hungry gazes with their eyes.

"That's it," Sylvia said. "You guys are gonna be our teachers!"

…

"Okay, so this is the alphabet," Tagg said, pointing to a large spread of random squiggles. "Each one makes a different sound, and you combine the sounds to make words."

"This sounds like way too much work," Storm said, leaning back in the seat of Nashi's bedroom. "I can't teach people!"

"Why didn't you guys take an English course?" Nashi questioned. "I thought everyone had to."

"Yeah, but not until a higher grade level," Sylvia explained, taking notes using a small notebook Nashi had leant her. "What's that?"

"This is the letter _S_ ," Tagg explained, drawing it out on the whiteboard in front of him. "It's also the first letter of your name in English, Sylvia."

"Really?!" Sylvia exclaimed, excitedly beginning to memorize the way the letter curved on the page.

"I'm so confused," Jay said, grabbing his head. "So this is a noun, this is a verb… and this is a… pronoun?"

"Yeah. A pronoun is a word that can function by itself as a noun phrase," Tagg said, shooting Nashi and Storm dirty looks. "You guys can help too, you know! Lester's busy writing the forms, so you guys are my only hope!"

"No way," Storm said with a click of this tongue. "I'll just watch Tagg-sensei do all the work, eh?"

"Storm, I really don't like you."

"What's the difference between a pronoun and a proper noun, then?" Sylvia questioned, flipping to a new page.

"A proper noun is a name, while a pronoun can be words like _I, you, they, she,_ etcetera," Tagg explained patiently.

"Well you've definitely learned a thing or two from your father," Nashi whistled. "I wouldn't expect any less, of course. Uncle Lyon's the principal of Magnolia Junior High School, after all!"

"Which is why he shouldn't need any help from us," Storm added.

"Storm, don't be rude," Nashi said evenly. "But he does have a point, Tagg."

"Aghh Nashi I thought you were on my side!"

"Are we really sure about all of this?" Jay spoke, still copying down what Tagg had told them to write. "I mean, we're all still young. Going on a trip abroad without any of our parents is kind of… scary."

"Hm," Nashi hummed. "You know what else is scary?"

"What?"

"The thought of my parents giving up," Nashi said. "I'm scared too, about all of this. I really am. But I don't wanna see my father and mother like that ever again.

"Nashi…"

"No, I really mean it," Nashi said again. "I know my mom didn't mean to put the blame on Dad like that. She really didn't. She isn't like that. It had been building up for quite some time now. And watching it all break down… it just really got to her. I don't want that to happen again. That's why I'm forgetting about my fear and just going for it."

"You're really brave," Storm said with a grin. "Really, truly, brave."

Nashi didn't answer, but Storm already knew she wouldn't. She was too deep into her thoughts at the moment to think about anything for the time being.

…

Lester finished printing out the documents and glanced down to his phone just as a message popped up. He finished stapling everything together and went to check it out.

It was from Smith.

' _You wanted to talk_?' she had messaged.

Lester quickly opened it and typed back, ' _Yeah. Do you have a minute?_ '

' _Sure_ ,' was her reply.

He took a deep breath.

' _I'm coming to America for a little while. California, actually. Where you live,_ ' he typed.

' _Really?! That's awesome_!' her reply was almost instant. ' _Wanna meet up somewhere?_ '

' _Yes, definitely,_ ' Lester said, his smile becoming even wider.

' _Great! Now I'm so excited_!' she replied.

' _I am too,'_ he said, before remembering something. ' _Oh right. I think we should tell each other our real names.'_

' _Fine by me.'_

Lester gulped.

' _My name's Lester Dreyer,'_ he said, sending the message and waiting anxiously for her reply.

' _Haha so you also did your last name as your user as well!'_ she said.

' _You did too?'_

' _Yep! My name's Mioa Smith.'_

Lester sucked in a breath.

Mioa.

What a beautiful name.

' _I love your name, Mioa,'_ he messaged, making his thoughts known.

' _Thanks! I love your name too, Lester.'_

* * *

 **I'm sooo excited for this! I also can't wait to start writing for Mioa! (She's one of my favorite OCs that I've made).**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for all the sweet reviews as per usual! :3**


	4. Chapter 4

"A school trip?" Lucy asked, looking down at her daughter with a raised eyebrow. "But you're out of high school!"

Nashi nodded patiently. "Yeah. Sylvia, Storm, and Jay have this school trip and they're allowed to bring a friend. I'm going along with Lester and Tagg."

"Oh," Lucy said, looking thoughtful. "Can I see the papers?"

Nashi pulled out the select documents Lester had given her earlier that day. The group had scanned them multiple times for any errors before finally deciding to go speak with their parents about it.

Lucy took them into her hands, showing them to Natsu so the two could read over them.

"Holy moly that's a lotta words," Natsu said instantly, looking at the small font and huge paragraphs.

Nashi internally swelled with pride at her friend's amazing work.

"California… you guys are going to America," Lucy breathed. "I've always wanted to go abroad. Never got the chance to, though."

"So can I go?" Nashi asked, nervously playing with her fingers.

"I mean, yes, it isn't really our decision. You are a legal adult after all," Lucy said. "But I'm guessing that we're gonna be the ones who pay for all of this, right?"

"Pretty much," Nashi giggled, happy that the plan was working. "You can attach the check on the next page, and I'll give it to Sylvia so she can give in her form to the school too."

"You guys are gonna go on a plane…" Natsu said, his stomach lurching. His face suddenly became a bright green as he quickly looked away. "Sweet Mavis now I'm thinking about it."

"What is already paid for?" Lucy asked, ignoring her husband's antics.

"Uh… nothing. We're going for a month, and-"

"A _month_?" Lucy said, her eyes flitting back to the papers in her hands. "Wow that's a long trip. Are you sure you want to go, Nashi?"

"Yes, Mom, I'm sure," Nashi said firmly. "It's already been decided, after all."

"Alrighty then," Natsu said, clapping his hands together. "I'm gonna help you pack, and Luce is gonna give you that whole speech about being careful!"

"Natsu, don't be so blunt," Lucy said, unamused. "Though I think this trip will be good for you. I'm gonna miss you like crazy though, Nashi."

"I am too, Mom," Nashi smiled softly.

"I'd still like to talk to the others about this. Juvia, Erza, Mira, and Lyon. I want their opinion on this whole trip thing," Lucy said, going to pick up her phone to make the call.

Nashi bit her lip nervously. Hopefully, everyone had already talked to their parents about the whole thing and everything was good to go.

"Hello, Juvia?" Lucy spoke, smiling into her phone. "Yes, it's me. I'm assuming you already heard about the America thing? Yeah, I told Nashi she could go but I wanted to talk to you about it too. Yes, that's good. Yeah Nashi told me that too. I wonder how much it's going to end up costing. Yeah, probably for the airplane ticket and hotel costs. That's a good idea. I'll give her some extra money too. A month! I know! Nashi seems really excited though. Yeah. Mhm. I understand. Haha yes I'm going to miss her like crazy too! I think the six of them, right, Nashi?" Lucy turned to her daughter with an expectant look.

Nashi seemed to know what she was talking about. "Me, Storm, Sylvia, Tagg, Lester, and Jay."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "The six of them. I'm surprised Velza isn't going too. He goes to their high school, right?"

Nashi then remembered what Jay and Lester said if they asked about Velza.

" _I already told Velza about all of this," Jay said. "He understands and he won't tell anyone."_

" _If anyone asks why he isn't going, we've made up a pretty reasonable excuse," Lester said. "Since he and Sylvia are in the same year, we said that the trip is only for student in the year above theirs, but special exceptions were granted since she is the top of her class."_

"The trip is only for people in the grade above Velza's. Sylvia can come because she's the top of her class," Nashi hastily explained.

Lucy looked skeptical, but thankfully seemed to buy it.

"It's because Sylvia's the top in her year," Lucy said slowly. "Yeah. Congrats to her. I'm proud too. Yes. Mhm. Cool. Okay bye, Juvia." She then hung up and turned to Nashi. "I hope you have a reasonable explanation for your brother. He won't be too happy about this."

"Got it," Nashi nodded, turning on her heel and running out the door.

Natsu turned to Lucy.

"Why'd you agree so easily?" he asked.

"Because we need to sort all of this out," Lucy said. "We can't do that if she's always here. This is good for all of us."

"I guess," Natsu said under his breath. "What are we gonna do about it."

"They're going to America," Lucy said. "California, to be precise. Do you know what else is there?"

"Yeah," Natsu said. " _Flam & Tee Restaurants_."

"Exactly," Lucy said. "Which means we our plan is also a little crumbled."

"Why? We can still go there to talk to them, right?"

"What if the kids see us?" Lucy asked. "They'll want an explanation!"

"A vacation?" Natsu suggested.

"No, they'll think we followed them because we're overprotective, which we're _not_ ," Lucy said, shaking her head. She sighed. "Whatever. We'll have to send them an email and go there once Nashi and her friends come home."

"Are ya' sure you're okay?" Natsu asked, reaching over to take her hand. "I mean, you kinda stormed out on me the other day."

"Yeah. For good reasons," Lucy said. "Anyway, that's in the past now. I still want to keep trying to fix this."

"Yeah."

"You do realize, don't you," Lucy started, "that if we can't do anything about this, we'll have to close down."

"Yeah," Natsu said, crossing his arms and looking away. "I don't know. That isn't gonna happen."

"We need a distraction," Lucy said firmly, getting out of the seat and walking to the stairs. "I'm going to go help Nashi. You go get yourself a drink or something."

"Okay," Natsu nodded, grabbing his things and quickly exiting out the front door.

Natsu ran through the town, heading straight for Gray and Juvia's house. He jogged in place as he waited for someone to answer.

"You look horrible," Gray commented when he answered. He leaned against the doorframe casually, watching as Natsu tried to calm himself down. "What're you doing here, anyway?"

"Wanted to chat," Natsu said simply, inviting himself in and instantly going to the kitchen. "Got anything strong?"

"Second door on the top cabinet," Gray said, going to the couch and taking a seat. "Take your pick."

Natsu nodded. When he finished, he sat across Gray. Gray stared at him with a peculiar gaze.

"Sooo… what's up?" he asked.

"Gotta tell you something," Natsu said, getting up to pour himself another.

"Alright," Gray said, watching as the pink-haired man kept repeating this process.

"Okay I'm gonna tell you something."

 _Gulp._

He stood up, going back to the kitchen.

"Gotta say something to you."

 _Gulp._

He stood up again, making his way back to the kitchen.

"Need to explain."

 _Gulp._

"Buddy, I think you've had enough," Gray said as Natsu began to rise again. "You okay?"

"Fine," Natsu said, grabbing his head and looking at the floor. "Gray, I'm a mess."

"I can tell," Gray said, noticing Juvia about to walk into the room. He quickly gestured for her to stay back. Juvia got the message, standing back in the hallway as she listened in intently.

"I've let everyone down," Natsu continued.

"Why?" Gray asked.

"I lost everything," Natsu said.

This time, Gray kept quiet.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said.

"No, I've lied for long enough," Natsu said. "Gray. I lost all my money."

Gray's eyes widened. He sprung out of his seat and landed his gaze on the man sitting before him.

"WHAT?!" he yelled. Natsu winced.

"I'm bankrupt."

"No way," Gray said. "No way. No no way."

"Haven't ya' ever wondered why no one's ever at Fairy Tail anymore?" Natsu said, shooting him a glare. He then proceeded to grab his head from the pain. "That's because I messed up. I messed up really really badly."

"I…"

"I used up all my money on stupid things, and now that I have them, I have nothing more. I tried raising my prices so I could earn it back, but now no one wants to step inside the blasted building."

"Dude," Gray said, putting his hands on Natsu's shoulder. "How long has this been going on for?"

"A long time," was Natsu's only reply.

" _And why did you not tell me about this before?"_

Gray's voice was low and laced with hurt.

"I… I didn't," Natsu started, shuddering slightly, "I didn't mean to."

"Oh yeah, sure you didn't."

"Gray-sama," Juvia's firm voice interrupted. Both men turned to see the lovely bluenette enter the room with a shake of her head. Her hands rested on her hips as she gave her husband a hard glare. "Don't be rude."

"What?" Gray said, dumbfounded.

"Natsu is clearly going through a lot right now," she said, walking up to sit next to Natsu. She offered him a small smile, rubbing his shoulders. "Juvia is sorry this is happening, Natsu."

"Don't be," Natsu muttered, going back to holding his head between his hands. "I'm already completely screwed. Nothing worse than adding pity to that giant pile of self-regret."

"He's speaking in proper, full sentences," Juvia said, giving Gray a worried look. "Is he going to be alright?"

"Yeah," Gray said, "he's just drunk."

"Ahh my head hurtsss," Natsu hissed, rubbing his temples. "What am I gonna doooo…"

"Well first, you're going to go to bed," Gray said, going closer to the man and heaving him up by the shoulders. "And don't think you're off the hook just because you're like this. I expect proper answers by tomorrow morning."

"Okaaayy."

And with that, Gray threw his friend onto the bed in his bedroom, and quickly turned around to return to his wife.

"I'm just really really done with him," he muttered, taking a seat opposite Juvia.

Juvia cringed. "Juvia didn't expect that," she said quietly.

"Gray didn't expect that either, Juvia," Gray said, shaking his head and closing his eyes. "Gray didn't expect that either."

…

"Mmm… guh," Natsu said, shaking out of his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes to stare straight at Gray and Juvia, who were currently cowering over him.

"Is he dead?" Gray questioned.

"Juvia thinks so," Juvia replied under her breath.

"Welcome to the afterlife, Natsu," Gray said, crossing his arms and prompting the pink-haired man to sit up. Natsu did, and rubbed his eyes, before a shot of pain soared through his head and his hands flew to his forehead.

"Owww," he grumbled. "Got anything to help?"

"Yeah," Gray said, handing him a glass of water. "You're gonna be feeling that for a while."

"You have a visitor," Juvia added softly.

"A visitor?" Natsu asked, climbing out of bed while sipping the water he was offered. "Who is it?"

"Natsu?!"

Natsu exited the bedroom to see his wife standing there with a stricken look. Lucy rushed over to him, wrapping her arms around his figure and sighing deeply.

"L-Luce?" Natsu asked, stumbling backwards.

"I was so worried!" Lucy exclaimed. "You didn't call, text, or say anything to me about spending the night here!"

"Just drowning in my worries," Natsu muttered, pulling apart from her and going to the couch. He turned to Gray. "Well, might as well come clean right here right now."

Gray nodded. "That would be nice."

"Where do I begin," Natsu said, rubbing his hands together. "Okay. So I decided ta' do renovations for Fairy Tail. I appealed to the company in America to see if they can open up a few more restaurants for me, but they said no. I kept doing more renovations every month, and soon, my bank balance went completely null. To try and earn money, I raised the menu prices, but then everyone stopped coming to the restaurant. Case closed. Story over. Please review. Hope you enjoyed."

Gray bit his lip.

"You should have told me. I could have _helped_ you," he started.

"I don't want your money!" Natsu exclaimed. "I never wanted anyone's money! If I did, I would have made a big deal about it and asked everyone for their money. But I didn't!"

"Then what did you expect to happen?" Gray demanded.

Natsu quickly turned away. "Does a miracle count?"

"Miracles don't exist," Gray said, crossing his arms. "You have to be an idiot to think something like that could ever happen out of the blue."

"Whatever."

"This is partially my fault too," Lucy said quietly, raising her hand.

"No, it isn't," Natsu said instantly. "You didn't do anything."

"I didn't want to tell anyone either, Natsu…"

"Yeah, but at least you realized it before I did."

"Natsu…"

"You both need to calm down," Gray interrupted, walking in front of the two. He then turned to Natsu with an almost accusing look. "It's okay. I don't really care anymore. If you really don't trust me, you should have just said so."

"It isn't that, Bastard!" Natsu screeched, jumping out of his seat and raising his fist. Gray inwardly flinched. Natsu's eyes widened as he realized what he was about to do, and he quickly backed away. "I… I didn't mean to do that."

"Yeah," Gray said, breathing heavily now. "I didn't mean to do this either." Gray raised his hand, levelling it just a little behind his head and moved it in so it hit Natsu's cheek with a hard _slap_.

Natsu stumbled back as the force of Gray's hand hit him. He looked at his friend with wide eyes and a shocked facial expression.

"You… you hit me!" he accused childishly. "Why'dya do that, huh?"

"I did it because you completely deserved it!" Gray retorted. " _Baka. Baka baka baka_."

"I know I did! Don't be so mean about it!"

" _Baka_!"

"Oi!"

" _Baka_!"

"Boys," Lucy and Juvia's stern voice interrupted their little banter. Both men turned to see the eyes of their respective wives boring holes into their skulls.

"I'm sorry," Natsu said, looking back at Gray who was looking a little down.

"I am too," Gray said. "For whatever reason you decided to keep this from me, I'm sorry."

"That was stupid of me," Natsu agreed.

Gray sighed, holding out his hand. "Truce?"

"Sure," Natsu said, taking the offered hand and shaking it firmly. "I still hate yer' guts, though."

"Likewise, Flame-brains," Gray smirked, ruffling a hand through his hair. "Likewise."

…

Nashi stared at the giant suitcase in the middle of the room, giving it the meanest glare she could muster.

"Who knew packing could be so hard," she muttered, looking around her room to see if she could find any other things she could possibly need.

"Nashi, you have visitors," she heard her mom call out from the bottom floor.

"Send them up," she yelled back.

Then, the doors to her bedroom swung open, revealing Tagg and Storm standing there with large smirks on their faces.

"What's up, Nash?" Storm said, walking up to her and seating himself on her bed.

"What are you two doing here?" Nashi asked with a less than amused look on her face. "As you can see, I'm very busy at the moment."

"Right right," Tagg said, eyeing her handiwork. "Which also explains why you're staring at your suitcase as if it was the most horrible thing you've ever seen."

"That's because it is," Nashi replied, crossing her arms and pouting. "Y'all are horrible."

"Nahh," Storm droned, picking up Nashi's laptop and looking at the screen with great interest. "You're working at this time?"

"Well," Nashi flushed, "we are going to be gone for a month! I don't wanna come back home to a pile of schoolwork! Plus, this is stuff for college. I wanna make it awesome."

"That's just like you," Storm snickered. "Heh, I don't have to worry about that for two years. Sucks to be you guys."

Tagg grinned, taking her laptop from Storm's grasp and beginning to highlight the text. "Hey you mind if I copy?" he asked cheekily.

"Oi!" Nashi immediately sprang out from her spot on the floor and snatched her computer from the boys' hold. "No way! That's dishonest!"

"Hmph," Tagg huffed, still smiling. "Still, I'm excited."

"I am too," Nashi said.

"Same," Storm agreed with a nod.

"I've never been abroad before," Nashi said, pulling her knees to her chest. "This is going to be so awesome!"

"I know," Tagg nodded. "America sounds so amazing."

"The United States of America," Storm breathed.

"Sounds united," Nashi snorted, giving him a light punch on the shoulder. "Maybe we'll all find that special someone there."

"That special someone?" Tagg quoted with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," Nashi said, sighing and leaning on her knees with a content smile. "That one special person who makes you feel like the best person in the entire world."

"Sounds like me," Storm teased.

Nashi rolled her eyes. "Uh huh."

"I dunno," Tagg said. "Maybe that person's closer than you think."

"Hey Tagg, what's your type?" Nashi suddenly asked.

"My _type_?"

"Yeah!" Nashi said. "What kinds of things do you look for in a girl?"

Tagg blinked, but responded anyway. "Uh… I guess she has to have a good sense of humor," he said.

Nashi nodded. "Humor is good."

"She's a big softie on the inside," Tagg kept going.

"That's sweet," Nashi commented.

"Yeah, that too. She's a sweet person, personality wise," he said. "A little reckless at times, but can be responsible. She has her own problems, but doesn't let that get in the way of her relationships with others. She has a good heart, with good intentions, and needs someone to help her come out of her shell." He could only think of one girl. Her face was flooding his mind as he rambled on and on.

Tagg didn't know how long he had been talking for until he saw the dumbstruck faces the other two were making. He coughed, abruptly ending his speech and giving them a weak smile.

"Well, that's pretty specific," Storm said.

"Yeah," Nashi agreed, before turning to him. "What about you, Storm?"

"Oh, me?" Storm asked. He looked thoughtful for a moment, before putting his hands behind his head and leaning back on Nashi's bedframe. "I want a girl that's the exact opposite of you."

Nashi's smile instantly fell.

"What?" she asked under her breath.

"You're too uptight," Storm said. "You're also way too reckless, and focus too much on things that don't matter. You're way too serious about things that aren't worth being serious over, and when you're not serious, everyone else is."

Storm didn't notice the tears pooling around Nashi's eyes.

"You also have this thing about you," he continued, "it's like, whenever you meet someone, they have an obligation to befriend you because you're just so charming. I don't like that. People have to earn people's trust, it isn't just expected and given out like that."

"That's enough," Tagg said, holding out his hand in front of Storm's face. "Stop it. Can't you see what you're doing to her?"

It was then when Storm's gaze fell back on Nashi.

"After everything…" she started softly. "After everything I've done to get you to like me. After all the trust I've put in you…"

"Wait, Nash-"

"Do you really not like me _that_ much?" Nashi demanded.

"No, of course I like you," Storm said. "But not romantically. Never romantically."

"Why not?" Nashi asked. "Not that I like you that way, but why not?"

"Because we're friends," Storm said quietly, fiddling with his fingers. "I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship because of something like that."

"That's a stupid reason," Nashi snorted, while tears threatened to spill. "Dammit. I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying so much."

Storm gave Tagg a meaningful look, signaling him to leave for just a moment. Tagg nodded, getting up and quietly making his exit. Once Storm and Nashi were completely alone, Storm turned back to Nashi.

"You don't understand," he said, causing Nashi to look up at him. "You don't know what I would do if I lost you as a friend."

Nashi sniffled, her eyes widening as she heard his words.

"Me too," she admitted.

"That's why I don't wanna like you like that," Storm said. "Gah, I really messed up this time, didn't I?"

"Yeah, just a bit," Nashi said with a small smile.

"Truce?" Storm asked, offering her his hand.

Instead of taking it, Nashi lept up and captured him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Okay," she said as she felt Storm's hands tightening around her.

…

Tagg observed the scene from outside the door. He bit his lip thoughtfully as he watched Nashi and Storm embrace.

"He likes her," he whispered under his breath. "He just hasn't realized it yet…"

Tagg shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see anymore.

After all, the girl he loved was slowly being taken away from him right under his nose.

With a shaky breath, he finalized something to himself.

"I won't give up."

* * *

 **Gray and Natsu make a truce, and then their children make one. -*3*-**

 **Ahh so I received some adorable fanart which really brightened my day!**

 _ **nyliadelta**_ **drew a really cute picture of Nashi, Storm, and Tagg for me on Tumblr! (My tumblr username is _flaminkomage_ ).**

 **And I also got a drawing of Tagg from _chhun_chhun_happy_ on Instagram! (My insta user is also _flaminkomage_ ).**

 **Thank you guys so much again!**

 **Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! I'm really excited for the next one!**


	5. Chapter 5

The airport smelled of leather. A lot of leather. Nashi wondered if that was because the giant building had just gotten new seats for all the waiting areas.

She, Storm, Sylvia, Jay, and Tagg made their way through the large main hall, following meekly behind Lester, who was currently finding his way around the large room using an application on his phone. His eyebrows were low on his face and his lips were quirked up into a confused grimace.

"Why do airports have to be so confusing," he muttered, rolling his suitcase behind him. "Whatever. Everyone, take out your tickets."

The others pulled out the slips of fancy paper and glared at the words written in the big, bold print.

They then proceeded to scan them into the computer, watching with glee as the giant green check mark appeared on the screen.

"That's cool," Sylvia grinned, putting her ticket inside the sleeve of her passport and slipping it back into her purse. Nashi did the same, giggling at the boys as they tried to fit their things into their pockets.

"This is why you should bring a small bag along," Lester said, hoisting his backpack on his back and shooting them all a wink. "I see only Tagg was smart enough to actually bring one."

"Hrmph," Storm said, crossing his arms childishly over his chest and turning to Nashi. "Hey can I share your bag with you?"

"Sure," Nashi nodded. "That's cool with me."

"Awesome!" Storm exclaimed, taking his things and dumping them into Nashi's bags as she looked on with disgust. "Thanks a bunch, Nash!"

"Any… time?"

The others choked on their laughs, while Tagg just looked skeptical. The green-haired boy then eyes his ticket.

"How are these seats gonna work?" he asked slowly, fingering the edge of the large slip of paper where the seat number was.

"Rows are of three," Lester started. "We're in two rows to share between the six of us. First row is seats forty-two, forty-three, and forty-four, and the second row is seats forty-five, forty-six, and forty-seven."

"I'm in seat forty-four," Nashi said, holding up her ticket.

"Sylvia is in seat forty-three!" Sylvia exclaimed happily, and the two girls high-fived.

"Oh dear, who's the lucky dude who gets to sit in that row?" Jay smirked.

"Uh…" Storm said, eyeing everyone else's tickets. "I think it's you, Jay."

"Wait, really?" Jay looked at his ticket, and sure enough there was a small '42' imprinted on the top right corner.

"Jay-kun will be sitting next to Sylvia!" Sylvia said, her face tinting red.

The others exchanged knowing smiles with each other.

Jay, though, smiled warmly. "I'm looking forward to it," he said, looking at Sylvia.

"Well looks like I'm right across Nashi," Tagg said, looking at his ticket. "I got forty-five."

"So we only have the aisle separating us?" Nashi asked. Lester nodded at that.

"I'm at the end with seat forty-seven," he said, giving a shrug. "I don't mind. I want to talk to Mioa anyway using my phone. I won't be very fun to be sitting next to. Sorry, Storm."

Storm looked indifferent about the whole situation.

"Mioa?" Nashi asked, looking at Lester with hungry eyes. She sauntered up to him, her smirk deepening as she nudged his elbow. "Who's this Mioa I've never heard anything about?"

"My girlfriend," Lester said, raising an eyebrow. "And yes, you have in fact heard of her."

"Ooh the girl online you were talking about?" Sylvia asked, clearly interested. "Sylvia thought you didn't know her name!"

"We decided to tell each other, since we're going to be meeting up when we land in California," Lester explained. "I'm very excited about it, though. But I think you all can already guess that."

"Oh can we ever," Nashi snorted. "I don't know what you classify as 'excitement', but sure."

"I am!" Lester insisted. "I've been texting her nonstop for the past week about it!"

"I can't wait to meet her, Lester," Jay offered. "She sounds like a really nice girl."

"Thanks, _Jay_ ," Lester said, pointedly looking over at Nashi. "You're so kind."

"Oi! Why are ya' giving me that weird look?" Nashi pouted, crossing her arms underneath her chest.

"You two bicker like an old married couple," Jay said with a roll of his eyes, offering Sylvia his hand which she gladly took. The two grinned at each other, before taking the lead and walking in front of the rest of the group.

Lester and Nashi shot each other one final look, before shrugging it off and following their two youngest friends.

…

"Everything was fine, Mom," Nashi said into her phone, taking a sip of the coffee Tagg had just bought for her. The six of them had gone through all of the airport procedures, and were now waiting by the gates to board their plane. "Yeah. We're all alright."

"Oh thank goodness," Lucy said through the phone, making Nashi inwardly wince. "You don't know how worried I was, Nash…"

"Relax, Mom," Nashi said, setting the paper cup down and leaning back in her seat. She saw Storm give her a curious look, to which she replied by mouthing 'Mom' to him. He nodded, understanding. "I'm completely fine."

"What are you all doing right now?" Lucy questioned.

"Storm, Sylvia, and I are sitting in the waiting lounge, and Lester, Jay, and Tagg went to go get some snacks for the plane," Nashi said, reaching over to take Storm's phone from his hand. Before he could protest, Nashi opened it with the passcode she had seen him entering a few weeks ago, and found his text messaging application and scrolled down to his mother's contact. Storm was looking at her actions with a giant opened-mouthed expression, as he tried to stop her from doing any real damage.

"That's good," Lucy said. "Now tell me about your day! How was the airport-"

"Listen, uh, Mom?" Nashi said, trying to stop Storm, who had now resorted to tickling her sides. "Can I call you back? I have to deal with a small nuisance right now."

"Oh, alright then. Have a safe time, Sweetie. Call me back soon, alright?"

"For sure. Bye Mom." And with that, Nashi hung up with a swift click of her phone and turned to Storm who was still trying to get the phone out of her reach. "You're a real pain, you know that? A real big pain in the rear."

"Don't resort to profanity, _Sweetie_ ," Storm teased, using the nickname Lucy had used for her, all while inching closer and closer to her. He reached out, placing his fingers at her torso and beginning to wiggle them ever so slightly so the girl could feel the torture he was putting on her.

"I never said anything wrong!" Nashi insisted, trying to escape from his grasp. "Hahaha stop that! Ahaha… oi- haha… gerroff me!"

"Both of you stop it," Sylvia cut in efficiently. "Sylvia is trying to read. Please take your annoyance somewhere else. Thank you, and have a pleasant rest of your evening."

"Eeehh?" Nashi said, throwing Storm off of her as he too was temporarily distracted. "What's that all about?"

"Don't mind her," Storm said, quickly taking the opportunity to snatch his phone back from Nashi's hands. "She always goes a little nuts when she's reading. It's normal, really. Haven't you ever interrupted her reading before?"

"Uh, no, I haven't. I think that's something only you do," Nashi replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh huh," Storm replied.

"We're back!" The three of them turned to see Lester, Jay, and a skeptic-looking Tagg standing there holding trays of drinks and snacks.

"We went to the coffee shop a little walk away," Lester explained, setting some of the things down onto the table in front of Nashi, Storm, and Sylvia. "I figured since we still have a little time before boarding begins, we could enjoy it by eating some of these treats!"

"Awesome," Storm said, reaching out and grabbing one of the tarts. "I've been wondering," he started again through a mouthful of food. "What are we gonna be eating in America?"

"The usual," Tagg replied. "I've heard you get a bit of everything there. I'm sure if it comes to it, we could settle down at a nice sushi place. Apparently American people love it."

"Sushi?" Jay asked. "I haven't had sushi in a while."

"Same," everyone else agreed.

"Great, now I'm hungry," Tagg said, eyeing the treats in front of him.

"Itadakimasu!" they all chorused, before digging in.

As they ate, more people began piling into the waiting area, shooting the six of them weird looks. They didn't care though. They were too caught up in their own little world, blocking out everything else. As they joked around, the flight attendants began calling people up by their seat number. The group listened intently till their row was finally called out.

"Seats forty-two through fifty."

"That's us!" Nashi said, springing out from her seat and hopping over, rolling her bright red suitcase behind her. The others quickly followed behind with their own carry on luggage, quickly checking in at the large counter and going through the doors to where the plane was.

Nashi was excited, to say the least. She had never been on a plane before, and even if it was for business purposes, she was happy to be with her friends on this occasion. She had always thought her first trip abroad would be with her family. But when she thought about it, these people _were_ her family.

As they entered the aircraft, the six of them looked around in wonder. Storm and Sylvia, who had already been on a plane before, weren't as excited, so they were chatting with Lester and Jay about what to expect on the ride. Nashi and Tagg, though, were completely astounded.

"I've never been on a plane before…" he whispered softly to her. Nashi turned around and gave him a meaningful look. "Oi. This is going to be okay, right?"

"Of course it is," Nashi replied, looking affectionately at the others as they scrambled into their seats. "Nothing bad is going to happen, I know it."

Tagg nodded, putting his suitcase into the compartments overhead and taking the seat next to Storm. Nashi also swung into her seat at the aisle, smiling happily at Jay and Sylvia. Sylvia, who was in the middle seat, was busy showing Jay the manual for emergencies, while Jay was looking at her with an expression Nashi couldn't place.

In the seat right in front of Tagg, there was another girl who was sitting in the aisle seat closest to Nashi. She looked to be about Nashi's age, and she was busy reading something Nashi couldn't see properly. She had charcoal black hair, and dark magenta-colored eyes. From what Nashi could see, she was a dangerously attractive woman.

"Hello," she said, catching her attention. The black-haired beauty turned around and laid her eyes on the pinkette, giving her a passive look. She didn't respond. Everyone was too busy to notice this little exchange, but Tagg did see it happening and joined in the conversation.

"Hi there," he offered with a friendly smile. He stuck out his hand in a way that suggested a possible friendship. "My name's Tagg. What's yours?"

The girl stared at both Nashi and Tagg with a look that they couldn't exactly read. Her expression didn't change as she silently took Tagg's hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Erica."

Nashi sighed in relief. So she was okay to the possibility of becoming friends.

"I'm Nashi," she said. "Wanna be friends?"

"It's too soon for any kind of relationship between you and I," Erica said back simply, turning back around without another word and resuming her reading.

Tagg and Nashi exchanged incredulous looks. Nashi mouthed to him, 'Let it go,' to which Tagg nodded and resumed his previous conversation with Storm.

Then, there was rumbling.

"We still don't have a fully thought out plan for all of this," Lester said once the plane had successfully taken off. "Do you guys want to brainstorm how we're going to approach Flam and Tee about Fairy Tail?"

"That would be helpful," Jay said. "We do need to keep formalities in mind, though. Don't want to come off in the wrong way."

"That's true," Storm said, clicking his tongue. "Lester, you know where their headquarters are, right?"

"Yup," Lester said, opening his phone and typing something the others couldn't see. "Locating them won't be a problem. But how are we planning to approach them?"

"We could always just go straight up and talk to them," Sylvia suggested. "Sometimes straight-forwardness works."

"Or we could go behind the scenes," Nashi said. "Work from an outsider's point of view."

"Maybe we could befriend someone who has connections to the company," Tagg said. "The chances of meeting someone like that are slim, but if it does happen, it would be extremely helpful."

"That's very very true," Lester said. "But again, like you said, the chances of that happening are as small as the chances of Velza asking Greenie out."

Everyone could agree with that.

"We're not getting into that right now," Jay said, rubbing his temples. "Even though my brother is a giant jerk in that department."

Suddenly, a new voice spoke up, "It doesn't matter what you do, because Flam and Tee Restaurants will not give people like you the time of day."

Everyone simultaneously looked ahead to see the girl from before staring at them.

"Erica?" Nashi asked. "What do you mean by that?"

Erica didn't show any sort of emotion on her face. "Because you're not good enough for that company. Fairy Tail, was it? I've heard you've been rejected countless times."

The others blinked at her, unsure what to say to that.

"What are you talking about?" Tagg asked in a low voice. "How do you know about that?"

"Who are you?" Storm asked, also curious.

Erica looked at them with a condescending expression. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and shut her book, placing it evenly on the seat in front of her's table.

"Who am I? My name is Erica Churn. I am the daughter of the CEO of Flam and Tee."

* * *

 **Erica's gonna be a fun one. XD This chapter was mostly an introduction to the new squad. Plus some shipping quirks. ;)**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**


	6. Chapter 6

Lester looked at Nashi with an urgent expression. His eyes screamed, 'Go after her!' and his fists were clenched as he tried to stop himself from physically hurting his friend. They had just met someone very influential towards Flam and Tee, and Nashi refused to go up and talk to her.

"But why not?" Lester whined, walking by Nashi's side as the group exited the airplane. They rolled their suitcases behind them, with Lester and Nashi up front, seemingly in an endless argument with each other.

"She doesn't seem like the type to want people to bother her!" Nashi replied, trying to walk ahead of the blonde man.

Erica, who could hear the entire conversation, was a few steps ahead of them, trying to block them and and their annoying voices out.

"No one wants people to bother them!" Lester argued.

"Exactly my point! Glad we've come to a conclusion, Lester," Nashi said, stopping her pace and turning to him with a nod.

"Will you two stop arguing?" Tagg said, covering his ears in a mocking fashion. "Please show some respect for the others around you!"

"Then why don't _you_ go talk to her, huh?" Nashi said, crossing her arms and glaring at the green-haired boy. Tagg sighed.

"Anything to stop you two from hurting my ears," he muttered, taking a deep breath and striding over to where Erica was standing. The black-haired girl was typing something on her phone with a furious frown etched onto her face. "Hey there!" Tagg said when he approached her. "What's up?"

Erica didn't look up from her mobile device. "You if you don't stop bothering me."

That caused everyone around them to silently "ooh".

"Haha, that's a funny joke," Tagg said awkwardly, shuffling his feet underneath him. "Listen, I know you're not the biggest fan of us, but please, will you let us talk to your father?"

"My father will not spend five seconds with people like yourself," Erica replied curtly. "Now go away before I report security on you."

"He doesn't have to spend five minutes with us," was Tagg's reply. "Four minutes should be more than enough."

Fighting fire with fire.

"Get lost," Erica said, her eyes narrowing. "The more you irritate me, the less your chances are of getting a meeting arranged with my father."

"What if I don't get lost, but you still talk to me without getting irritated?" Tagg offered, still maintaining his cheeky grin. "Would that suffice?"

"It isn't my fault that you're an irritating person."

"It isn't my fault that you're getting irritated."

They looked at each other eye to eye, Tagg standing a few inches taller than her. Erica muttered something under her breath, before grabbing her carry on luggage and walking swiftly away from the scene.

Tagg, though, kept up his pursuit. The others followed silently behind him, watching in awe as Tagg effortlessly conferred with this difficult girl.

Nashi smirked inwardly. Things were just getting started.

The thing was, Tagg had a special trick up his sleeve that would make anyone completely surrender towards him. He had only used it once, and that was when he and Nashi were both still very young and going to school in Acalypha.

"I think I've got you all figured out," Tagg said, strolling aimlessly besides the baffled young woman. Erica sneered, trying to avoid his gaze.

"Didn't I tell you to get lost?"

"You did, but since when do I listen to people I just met?" Tagg said, shrugging. "Anyway, I think I've got you figured out."

"You already said that once."

Here it comes.

"You were lonely as a child," Tagg started, his voice instantly becoming softer. "A lack of friends, and your businessman father didn't spend much time with you."

Everyone visibly flinched as Erica sucked in a breath.

"Since people never really paid much attention to you, you never learned how to interact with others until you entered the world of business," Tagg continued. "You refuse to talk to anyone if it doesn't mean it will provide a beneficial outlook on yourself. You're selfish that way."

Erica suddenly stopped walking. She turned around to face Tagg head-on. "You're wrong. I was a very happy child, for your information. I grew up perfectly normally."

"I never said you didn't grow up normally," Tagg said, crossing his arms and lazily smirking. "Now please. Will you be more cooperative with me? Let. Us. Speak. With. Your. Father."

"Yeah!" Storm suddenly jumped in, backing up his cousin. "Please," he then added softly.

"I…" Erica said, lost for words. What was she supposed to say to all of that? "Ah… fine. But I will only humor you on one condition."

Tagg looked absolutely delighted to hear that.

"I want your group to never speak with me again after the meeting. Especially you."

"Fine," Tagg nodded. "No need to be so rude about it. But also, I have my own small condition."

"What?"

"Spend time with us today. We'll take you around the city, and if you still feel any kind of negative emotion towards us, you can keep your condition. Otherwise, it has to be broken upon you saying you had a fun time."

Erica bit her lip, but nodded. She held out her hand in a classy fashion, almost ordering Tagg to take it.

"Deal," she said with a nod of her head. Tagg happily took her hand, giving it a firm shake and grinning heavily.

"Cool!" he said, giving her a thumbs up. "So then. Why don't we start right now?"

"Okay."

Somewhere from behind the duo, Storm turned to Nashi with an incredulous look.

"You're looking awfully smug there," he noted. "Did you know he could do that?"

Nashi simply laughed.

"Of course I did! He was my enemy back in school for a reason, you know," she said, deepening her smirk.

"So he was your enemy, and you still knew everything about him?" Storm questioned, a little confused.

"Don't you know everything about me?"

"Well, yeah, but we're not enemies," Storm commented.

"True. We're friends," Nashi said. "We used to always be at each other's throats, though, remember?"

"Yeah. But not anymore."

"Yes," Nashi agreed.

Lester, who had gone back to typing something on his phone, suddenly looked up with an excited smile.

"Guys, come on! Let's get our bags quickly so we can get out of here!"

Jay smirked.

"Oh I wonder why you're suddenly so excited," he drawled.

Sylvia giggled. "You must be so happy, Lester."

Lester just grinned.

"I will be even more happy if we hurry things along! Now come on! You too, Erica!"

Erica blinked, following wordlessly behind the group of six, now seven, and soon to be eight.

…

' _I'll be waiting for you outside the main gates of the airport.'_

Her message burned through Lester's mind, clouding his thoughts as he hurriedly ushered everyone through baggage claim.

"Quick, everyone!" he yelled. "Get your bags and hurry the hell up!"

"Calm down, Lester," Nashi said, patting his shoulder before heaving her red suitcase up from the conveyer belt. "Mioa's not going anywhere."

"This has nothing to do with Mioa!" Lester insisted, but his cheeks said otherwise.

"Right."

Erica didn't say anything as she watched the group interact. Lester noticed her gaze linger on him before she asked, "Who's Mioa?"

"My girlfriend," Lester asked, holding up his phone. "We met online. I'm meeting her for the first time today."

"That's… sweet," Erica decided on saying. "Though online relationships are never a responsible way of going about things. You don't know who's on the end of the screen."

"Guess I'll find out today," Lester replied easily. Anyone could see he was a bit scared of the whole situation, but was letting his excitement cloud over it.

As everyone exited through the main gates, hauling their luggage behind them. Lester kept his eyes firmly on his phone, watching his text messages like a hawk.

He looked at Mioa's typing cursor blink on and off for a few seconds, before he heard a shriek of, "LESTER DREYER?!"

His head snapped up, meeting the eyes of a young woman, her hands flying frantically all over the place. She had the biggest smile on, and was wearing a simple fuschia-colored t-shirt with jeans. Her slightly curly blonde hair fell to her waist, and her eyes were bright green. Her look was completed with red pumps, light makeup, and a flowery headband across the top of her head.

The first thought that passed through Lester's head was 'beautiful'.

He wasn't able to finish his thought though, as the woman ran up to him, her hair flying behind her back. She then proceeded to launch herself onto his figure, causing him to stumble back. She wrapped her arms tightly around Lester, burying his face into his neck and breathing softly.

"H-hi…" Lester muttered, returning the tight embrace with just as much force, "... Mioa."

Mioa Smith separated herself from Lester with a giant grin. Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes as she stared up at the tall man.

"You're even more handsome than I thought you were!" she exclaimed, her cheeks tinting bright red. Lester coughed suddenly, trying desperately to hide his smile but completely failing.

"You're… just as beautiful," he said quietly, still at lost for words. "I've been wanting to meet you for _so_ long, Mioa."

"I have been too, Drey!" Mioa giggled, avoiding the first comment.

Lester didn't know why, but after hearing her say the name she had known him by before knowing his real name, he was instantly relieved.

"Well well well," Storm said, strolling over and eying the blonde curiously. "So you're the famous Mioa we've all heard so much about."

"That's me!" Mioa replied with a bubbly smile. "It's nice to meet you!"

"It's so awesome to meet you too!" Nashi said, jumping besides Storm and resting her elbow on his shoulder. "My name's Nashi Dragneel. This is Storm Fullbuster! Over there's Jay Fernandes, Sylvia Fullbuster, Tagg Vastia, and Erica Churn!"

"I'm Mioa Smith," Mioa said, surprising them as she began to speak in Japanese.

"You speak Japanese?" Nashi asked with amazement.

"I took a few classes once I found out Lester was from Japan," she explained, shooting her boyfriend a smile. "Now I guess I can put those hours of endless studying to use!"

"You're amazing," Sylvia squeaked. "Lester, Sylvia wants to know how you managed to score such an amazing girl!"

"Oh I'm nothing special," Mioa grinned. "But I'm so happy to _finally_ meet you all! Lester talks so much about you guys!"

"Oh dear, I wonder what about," Tagg said, joining the conversation. "I'm Tagg. It's good to meet you."

"Likewise!" Mioa replied with another wide smile.

Lester watched all of this take place with a warm feeling in his chest. He knew Mioa was a sweet girl, but he never expected everyone to warm up to her so quickly.

"And I'm Erica," Erica finally said. "You won't be seeing a lot of me around, but I'm here for the rest of the day."

"Possibly more," Tagg added, nudging Erica's side as she sighed and looked away.

"Alright!" Mioa said with a nod. She then waved out to everyone to follow her. "Come on! I've got my tour car all set up to go for everyone!"

"Tour car?" Jay questioned.

"I'm a tour guide!" Mioa smiled. "I can take you all around the wonderful capital city of California!"

Everyone smiled cheerily as Mioa led them outside the airport, opening her arms wide into the air.

"Welcome to Sacramento, guys!"

…

Mioa and Lester took the front two seats with Mioa driving, as everyone else started piling into the large eight-seater car Mioa had just shown them to.

"Mind if I sit here?" Storm asked Nashi, gesturing the open seat to the pinkette's left. Nashi nodded, patting the seat and making room for him. Sylvia, who was sitting on Nashi's right, looked across her shoulder to see Jay sitting directly behind her. Tagg was sitting to the left of him, while Erica was seated next to Tagg.

"Everyone all set?" Mioa called into the car. Everyone responded with a quick "Hai!" and they were off.

They drove for a while, before Miao started speaking again.

"Right there's the State Capitol," she started, pointing out to a large white building. "It was built in the 1860s and has many colorful gardens extending out numerous blocks. The large variety of plants and trees make it one of the most beautiful Capitol buildings in all of the United States!"

Storm sniggered. "Nashi, you like flowers right? You'll be right at home here," he said, nudging his friend.

Nashi looked amused. "I'm going to choose to ignore that comment."

"Oh look! This is the California State Railroad Museum!" Mioa started again. It has over 100,000 square feet of walking space, and it among the world's largest railroad museums. It houses restored locomotives and railway coaches of all ages. It's also one of the premier attractions in the city."

"Chugga chugga choo choo!" Storm laughed, leaning into Nashi as she tried to push him away.

"Get off of me!" Nashi yelped.

"Oh here's another museum," Mioa said, looking outside the car windows and at a large white modern building. "This is the Crocker Museum of Art. It holds an insanely impressive haul of Californian art, as well as works that have European and East Asian origins."

"You really do know your stuff," Nashi said.

"Not like you," Storm said to Nashi, making her push him roughly back into his seat.

"Shut up!"

"And this is Fairytale town!" Mioa said, making everyone flinch before realizing it was just the name of the park. "It's a family park with all sorts of different entertaining things to do! The park has farm animals, learning gardens, and themed play areas based on different fairy tales and nursery rhymes."

"Sounds fun," Nashi noted.

"Of course it would sound fun to a kid like you!" Storm teased.

"Says the guy who's two years younger than me!"

"Yeah yeah."

"Will you two _shut up_?" Tagg suddenly said. Nashi and Storm snapped up and looked around, seeing almost everyone with their ears covered. Everyone but Lester and Mioa, who were busy talking up in the front seats.

"You guys have done nothing but bicker back and forth throughout the entire tour!" Jay added.

"Have some mercy, Storm-nii!" Sylvia groaned.

"Sorry guys," Nashi said sheepishly.

"Just get together already," Jay muttered, proceeding to look out the window to his right.

Tagg's ears instantly perked up upon hearing that.

"What are you talking about?" Storm asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not this again…" Nashi moaned.

"Oh trust me, they're not getting together anytime soon," Tagg said with a definite nod of his head. "Trust me on that one."

"Sylvia doesn't know about that…" Sylvia said with a small smirk.

Nashi yelled "I DON'T LIKE HIM!" just as Storm yelled "I DON'T LIKE HER!"

"Even _I_ can see you two have a special relationship," Erica muttered.

"Then again, Tagg and Nashi do too," Jay pointed out.

"Are we discussing who Nashi should end up with?" Lester called back from the front seat. "Ooh! My favorite topic of conversation! Mioa, what do you think?"

Mioa, who looked at them through the mirror next to her, smirked evenly.

"I'm going to have to keep an eye on you three," she said simply, going back to focusing on her driving.

"I hate all of you," Nashi muttered.

"Sylvia's vote is on Storm-nii," Sylvia said with a definite nod.

"I'm leaning more towards Tagg…" Jay said.

"Jay-kun!" Sylvia exclaimed, mocking hurt. "Sylvia thought you were going to side with her!"

"Sorry, Sylvia-chan, but not this time," Jay said.

" _Chan_?" Storm said, jumping up slightly and looking back at Jay. "Since when did you start calling Sylv by that honorific?"

"Since… just now I guess?"

Storm instantly looked to his right to see his sister. "Sylv! Are you okay with this?"

"Sylvia is fine with being called 'Sylvia-chan' by Jay-kun."

Storm huffed under his breath, not saying anything. Nashi giggled.

"Isn't it a little late to start playing the role of overprotective big brother?" she teased. "Sylvia's fourteen. It's the age where young girls start getting boyfriends and going out on fancy dates."

"And here you are, a girl of eighteen and still single," Storm immediately retorted.

Nashi's face heated up. "Oi! You're not any better! You don't have a girlfriend!"

"Children," Lester said from up front. "Don't be immature. We're almost at the hotel."

" _Children?!_ " Nashi and Storm yelled simultaneously. "Don't call us children, Lester!"

"Yeah, Lester," Mioa laughed, shaking her head. "Don't call them children!"

Erica just looked at everyone with weird looks.

…

"How are rooming arrangements going to work?" Nashi asked as they entered the large hotel building.

"We only have one room for the six of us," Lester said back.

The others gaped.

"ONE ROOM?!"

"Relax, it's a suite. There are enough beds for everyone to have their own," Lester continued.

"Oh great, I have to sleep in the same room as Storm for a month," Nashi groaned.

"Oh great, I have to sleep in the same room as Nash for a month," Storm said a few seconds later.

"I'm just a five minute walk away from this hotel, actually," Mioa said. "You guys should come to my apartment for breakfast tomorrow morning!"

"Sounds lovely," Sylvia nodded.

"I'm a fifteen minute drive away," Erica said quietly, turning to the main doors. "I'll be off now. Thanks for today."

"Let me accompany you," Tagg instantly said, walking up to her side. Erica shot him a single glare, before silently walking towards the main doors, opening them and not bothering to hold them for Tagg.

"I should get going too," Mioa said, glancing at her watch. She then shot everyone a huge grin and offered them each a handshake. "It was amazing to meet all of you. I hope we can be good friends."

"Of course," Jay replied with a small smile.

"Bye now," Mioa said, fervently glancing at Lester. "Would you like to… uh…"

"Yeah," Lester nodded, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the hotel. "I want to talk to you. Privately."

Once they were outside, Mioa instantly turned to Lester. Lester's eyes widened once he noticed the tears at the corners of her eyes.

"Lester…" she started softly, lifting a hand to touch his cheek. "I… I can't believe…"

"I've been waiting for this for _so_ long, Mioa," Lester said, taking her hands into his. "Ever since I asked you out all those years ago."

"Four years," Mioa whispered. "How did you put up with me for this long?"

"The better question is, how have you not already started crying by now?"

They both laughed. Mioa was known for her bubbly and upbeat personality, but it was also incredibly easy to make her cry.

"I won't cry," she smoothly replied. "I won't cry until I need to."

"Am I not worth crying over?"

Mioa scrunched her nose in. "Anything but that! Honest!"

Lester chuckled. "I'm so happy that I finally got to meet you."

Mioa smiled. "I am too."

"Also kind of relieved, honestly," Lester continued, "to see that you're a completely normal person. Server everyone who doubted me right."

"Question, would you like me to use a honorific for you?" Mioa asked. "I'm not used to it, but I could always give it a shot?"

"Nah," Lester said. "I've never been a big fan of using honorifics. I don't mind it when other people use them… but not me."

"Okay," Mioa nodded. She swung her purse higher on her shoulder as the two stared at each other. "Would it be okay if… if you came and met my dad one day?"

"What?" Lester blinked.

"My father asked to meet you. I'm sorry, but there wasn't anything I could do," Mioa said solemnly.

"Will I make it out alive?" Lester asked suspiciously.

"Of course!" Mioa giggled. "My father isn't one of those overprotective ones. He's really cool, trust me."

"Okay then, I accept," Lester said, bowing low. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Mioa smiled a wistful smile. "Thank you, Lester. For everything. This next month is going to be the best of my life!"

"Mine too," Lester grinned, pulling her in for a short hug. "I really am very happy."

…

Tagg was confused.

Did Erica not have fun today? Was that why she still hadn't said a single word this entire time?

The walk to the car was a relatively long one, considering Erica's father had sent a ride over to where she had told him.

"Erica, we're almost there," he said quietly. "I kind of wanted to talk to you."

"What about," Erica demanded, spinning on her heel to face him.

Tagg gulped. "Just… did you have fun today?"

"Fun?" Erica repeated.

"Yeah, fun," Tagg said.

"I can't say I did have a lot of fun," Erica replied, turning back around and continuing her walk. "And no, I will not be telling you why, so don't bother asking."

"I won't ask if you don't want me to, Erica," Tagg said cautiously. What was with this girl? What kind of answer did she want from him?

"I'll get you your meeting, if this is what all of this is about," Erica said suddenly, her voice taking on a much lower tone. "But please, you don't have to keep acting like you want to be my friend. I understand more than anyone what it's like to want something so badly that you have to go through any possible measures to get it."

"Stop that," Tagg instantly said.

"Stop what?" Erica asked.

"Thinking everyone in the world is against you!" Tagg exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. "Because, let me be the first to tell you, Erica Churn, they aren't! I genuinely want to be your friend because I think you're a cool person! Not because of some stupid business deal we're after." Tagg breathed heavily as he spoke. He wanted to get his point across as clearly as possible, because he could tell Erica was not the kind of person to believe in this kind of stuff.

"You know what, Tagg Vastia?" Erica started. "I think I've got _you_ figured out."

"Yeah?" Tagg said, almost as if he was challenging her into continuing that sentence.

"Yeah. You're a socially challenged, awkward freak who tries to keep everything to yourself, even though you _know_ people can tell what you're actually thinking."

Tagg blinked.

"I-"

"Furthermore," Erica said, not bothering to wait for his reply, "you don't know how to handle situations that require any kind of emotional backbone, because you think you have _nothing_ compared to those other people!"

"Erica-"

"You try your best, though. You always try your best because you're still searching for something that'll help you get over yourself! You _know_ how people feel about you! You even know how _she_ feels about you!"

Tagg froze. "What are you-"

"You refuse to accept any of that, though, because you're a selfish freak who wants everything to go your way! Well guess what, Tagg Vastia, it's _too late_. You're too late! Surprise! Everyone else has everything, compared to you, who can only offer your friendship. You can't offer anything else, and that bugs the living crap out of you."

Tagg furrowed his eyebrows, draining in all of the information. Even he knew that whatever Erica had just said was the one-hundred-percent absolute truth.

He wasn't just going to accept it, though.

"Oh yeah?" he said, stepping forwards. "Really, Erica? What about you, then? You're always taking the backseat because unlike me, you _think_ you have nothing to offer, when in reality, you do! You offer everything, and you commit yourself to it because that's just what you do. You're that kind of person, whether you're interested in admitting it or not."

"Then what?" Erica demanded, stepping even closer to the boy in front of her. "What are you saying? That I'm a completely reliable person who should be trusted with someone's _life_? That's happened before, Tagg Vastia, and I am not making that mistake for the second time in my life."

"No, I am not saying that," Tagg said, his voice becoming cleaner and his diction finally coming to a more reachable pace. "You have no right to be saying any of this, Erica Churn. No right at all. You haven't been through what I've been through! Unlike you, I have the right to feel the things I feel!"

"I have my own problems!" Erica screeched, her voice still not quieting down. "Don't you dare think I don't, Tagg Vastia. You have _no idea_ what I've been through in my life."

"Family problems."

"Check."

"Social problems."

"Check."

"Individual search."

"Check."

"Inferiority complex."

"Check check check double check."

They looked at each other, and both said at the exact same time, "Fathers."

Erica blinked.

Tagg stepped back.

They searched each other's eyes, trying to figure out where to go from here. It was obvious they had both suffered a lot. That last checklist proved it. Tagg couldn't deny it now.

"Love life?" Tagg said softly.

Erica gulped, blinking back tears. Tagg could immediately tell he had just hit the jackpot.

"Check," she whispered.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"You can always talk to me about it."

"I won't bother with troubling you."

"I'm troubled almost every single day of my life, Erica. I think I can bear with a little more," Tagg said, attempting a smile.

Erica let out a fragile laugh. "That's okay," she said. "And I'm sorry too."

"Don't be," Tagg replied easily.

"Thank you."

"Thank you too."

"You're welcome."

"Yeah."

"You should… probably head back inside," Erica said, pointing back to where the hotel was. Tagg nodded, putting his hands in his pockets and turned around.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked hopefully, his back still to her.

"Yeah. Tomorrow."

Erica couldn't see it, but just as she said that, he broke out into a wide grin.

One point for Tagg Vastia.

* * *

 ***Coughs away***

 **Oh and, all those facts about Sacramento were from a Google search. I wouldn't know much, since I live all the way on the east coast. I've been to California many many times, though.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Is it just me or is the feeling of your phone in your hand with a story pulled up really really pleasing? Just the way the small words look on the screen, and the light that reflects off the phone as you scroll through the newest chapter of your favorite fic.**

 **Just me? Okay, I thought so.**

 **Yeah that sounded a bit too poetic.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Yo, it's Natsu speaking from Luce's phone because Luce's currently in the shower and can't answer," Natsu said, holding his wife's phone to his ear while peeling an apple. "What can I do for ya'? Actually, who is this anyway? I forgot to ask."

Igor was reading a book on the kitchen table, listening in on his father's conversation. He didn't know who had just called, but by the way his father reacted upon hearing the person's reply, he knew it was important.

"Are you for real?" Natsu said, his voice suddenly becoming a lot more serious. "Congratulations- oh okay, too soon? Yeah. We'll be there in an hour or so! Thanks, Ro."

"Who was that?" Igor asked, graciously accepting the plate of apples Natsu offered him.

"Remember the old chef who used to work at a Fairy Tail?" Natsu said, sitting down across the table from his son. "Uncle Ro? He just called. He and his wife-"

"Was that my phone?" Lucy suddenly asked, entering the room. Both Igor and Natsu turned to see the blonde with her wet, long hair combed out and a measly towel wrapped around her generous figure. Lucy held a portable hair dryer in her left hand and a strapless bra in the other. "Natsu, what are you doing on my phone?"

"Oh hey Luce, enjoy your shower?" Natsu asked as if not fazed one bit by his wife's appearance. After all, he was used to it by now. Igor immediately covered his eyes, not wanting to see this in the slightest.

"Was someone on the phone?" Lucy asked, ignoring Natsu's question. She leaned over and swiped an apple from her son's plate, munching it and licking the salt off her fingers. "What did you put on these, by the way?"

"Black salt," Natsu replied easily. "And yeah. That was Ro. Saran just went into labor and he wanted us to come over."

Lucy almost dropped her apple. " _What?!_ Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" she shrieked, beginning to frantically run around the room, quickly strapping the piece of cloth she was holding around her chest and running back upstairs.

"Why is Mom… like _that_?" Igor asked, looking back at his father. Natsu was looking at where Lucy was standing before, just gazing at the spot for a few minutes.

"You know what, Igor?" he started. "I honestly don't even know."

Igor nodded. "Gotcha," he said, giving his father finger guns. "Do I have to come to see Uncle Ro too?"

"I guess you could stay behind," Natsu shrugged. "Your mom and I will be back by the end of the day."

Igor smiled victoriously. "Awesome!" he said, pumping his fist into the air. "It's been a long time since I've gotten to hang out with people. Ever since Nashi left and stuff, it's been really lonely."

"Understandable," Natsu said, sipping his water. "Your sister must be having a blast on that school trip o' hers."

"I wish I could have gone," Igor whined. "Going to America sounds like so much fun!"

"I've been once," Natsu said casually. "For business purposes, though."

"Nashi's gone to California! That's so far away," Igor said in awe. "When is she coming back, Dad?"

"Not for another month or so," Natsu replied, pouring himself a glass of orange juice. "She'll be back soon."

"Okay," Igor nodded.

"You miss her?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Igor said with a shrug.

Natsu slapped his hands together. "Yosh! Then how about tomorrow morning you and I go out for a little father-son time?"

Igor couldn't help but smile. "Yes!" he cheered. "Let's do it, Dad!"

"Alrighty. Until then, you go hang out at Uncle Gajeel and Aunt Levy's place," Natsu said with a small smirk. "You wouldn't have any problem with that, would you?"

"Are Gale and Jevy going to be there?"

"Yup," Natsu said, popping the 'p'.

"Yes!" Igor said, pumping the air with his fist. "I can't wait to show Gale the story I wrote yesterday!"

"You sure do like writing, Igor," Natsu noted. "Just like your mother."

"I like Mom's stories," Igor said defensively.

Natsu smirked. "Trust me, a lot more people like them too."

"Mom's famous, right?"

"Yup!"

"I wanna be famous one day too," Igor said thoughtfully, putting his hand to his chin. "Can I start writing stories like Mom does, Dad?"

"You wanna be a writer?" Natsu questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Well…" Igor said, still seeming to be thinking to himself. "Maybe? I don't know yet."

Lucy then burst into the room, now fully clothed and running a comb through her hair. "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" she questioned, running up to her son excitedly. "Igor wants to follow in his Mama's footsteps?!"

"Don't get a big head, Luce," Natsu scolded. "That won't be good for anyone."

Lucy ignored him. "I'll sign you up for some creative writing classes, and some literature studies! Ooh and I'll go buy some writing packets! Natsu! Let's stop by at a bookstore on our way to the hospital! We can buy some grammar books for Igor!"

"Great job, Igor. You got her all fired up," Natsu said with another eye roll, crossing his arms beneath his chest.

"Well, ever since Nashi's been so adamant about helping out around the restaurant, hope really has been lost for me, you know?" Lucy said, before turning back to Igor. "But now I have a child who can continue my author legacy!"

"Author _legacy_?" Natsu questioned, trying not to laugh. "Legacy? _Legacy_?"

"Exactly!"

"Mom, how many books have you written?" Igor asked.

Lucy grinned. "Six so far," she said proudly. "Four of them have been nominated for Japan's Top Three for young adult literature, and I've won both first and second place for two of them! All of my books have won some kind of award, though."

"That's so cool! I wanna win awards too!" Igor cheered.

Lucy smirked, shooting a sly grin towards Natsu. "He may be exactly like you, but he understands my goals."

Natsu grinned. "Just like how Nashi's exactly like you, but does what I do!"

"We have all-rounder children!" Lucy cheered, jumping onto her husband's back and pumping a fist into the air. "Natsu, congratulations for getting a wife like me!"

"Yosh!"

Igor just blinked, slowly backing away.

…

Natsu and Lucy entered the hospital room slowly, inching into the large space and closing the door behind them. They looked up, instantly spotting both Ro and Saran. Saran was on the bed, her now light brunette hair tied up into a messy bun. She looked absolutely exhausted, but once they saw the way her eyes lit up upon seeing the frail child in her arms, both Natsu and Lucy knew she was truly happy.

"Natsu! Lucy!" Ro said in a voice just above a whisper. "It's so good to see you again." Ro quickly got out of his seat behind Saran's bed, shaking Natsu's hand and giving Lucy a hug.

"Same to you, Ro," Lucy smiled, looking back to where Saran was. She walked up to the younger woman. "How are you feeling, Sar?"

Lucy and Saran had gotten extremely close over these last few years. They figured that there wasn't much point of continuing to be wary around one another after Natsu and Lucy wed. Still, they held out for as long as possible before finally coming to the conclusion that the other was worth giving a second chance to. And boy was it worth it. Saran and Lucy trusted each other enough now, and upon the news that Saran was carrying Ro's child after so many years of marriage, it brought utter joy to Lucy's ears.

"I'm feeling great, thanks, Lucy," Saran smiled, looking down to the child. "We had a baby girl."

"She's so cute!" Natsu said, coming up to the bed too. "What did ya' guys name her?"

Ro and Saran shared a smile.

"We decided to call her Rena," Ro replied, pinching his newborn daughter's cheeks softly. "Saran thought it fit with her dark hair."

"It does," Saran argued with a teasing smile. "She got my looks, but Ro's hair and eyes. I think I did pretty well though, wouldn't you say?"

The other three rolled their eyes with a small laugh.

"I'm so happy for you two," Lucy squealed, putting her hands underneath her chin and grinning heavily. "Never thought I'd see the day when Ro finally had a child! Especially such an adorable daughter like Rena-chan!"

"I can't wait till she's older," Saran said, giving Ro a weird look. "I'm looking forward to seeing if Ro keeps up his promise of being an overprotective father."

"He promised something like that?" Natsu questioned, looking at his former colleague. "Wow. I'd never have the guts to do something like that in front of Luce. For the boy department, I don't really have a clue about anything for Nashi. That's Lucy's job, not mine."

The other three laughed.

"Oh you better believe it," Lucy said with a wink.

"We do," both Ro and Saran replied easily.

Natsu and Lucy grinned.

"Wow," Lucy suddenly whispered under her breath. "We've all grown up so much."

"You can say that again," Ro said.

"Hard to believe only nine years ago you came to Fairy Tail to work," Saran added, before her face lit up with laughter. "I still remember how rude I was to you because of that silly infatuation with Natsu."

"You can say that again," Ro repeated with a smile.

"I'm pretty damn happy, though," Natsu said, grinning heavily. "Everything worked out for the best in the end, amiright?"

"You can say that again," Ro said again.

Then, Natsu's face became a lot more serious suddenly. "Uh… listen, Ro, there's something I have to talk to you about."

Ro tilted his head slightly.

"What about?" he asked curiously.

Natsu gulped, looking over to Lucy for support. She nodded with an encouraging smile. Natsu sighed, looking back at the tall, raven-haired man. He put the palms of his hands together and bent down in a plea.

"Please come work for me again!"

Both Saran and Ro blinked in shock. Ro gasped, stepping back while his jaw seemed to drop to the floor.

"What?" he asked.

Natsu mumbled incoherent words under his breath, before stepping up and looking at Ro straight in the eyes.

"Ro, I need your help."

…

"Erica did it," Tagg said, holding a proud air as he entered the large hotel room. Five excited faces greeted him, each from their own respective bed. "She got us a meeting with the CEO of Flam and Tee!"

"Oh my Mavis," Nashi said, getting up and pumping her fist into the air. "This is so awesome!"

"I know!" Tagg replied, giving himself a mental pat on the back. "I think I deserve a bit of recognition for this, you know."

Nashi didn't hesitate to quickly jump into his arms, rewarding him with a big hug.

"You're the best, Tagg," she said once she pulled away, patting his shoulder.

"This is incredible," Lester said, smiling gratefully at the younger boy. "Thank you, Tagg. You did great."

"What did you do to get her to agree?" Storm asked. "Thought for sure that whole deal thing you guys made back at the airport was a fluke."

"You'd think that," Tagg replied with an eye roll. "In reality, we… kind of…"

"DID YOU TWO KISS EACH OTHER?!" Sylvia exclaimed, jumping up to her older cousin and look him dead in the eyes. "DID YOU DID YOU DID YOU?!"

Tagg blinked. "Uh… no?" he said, unsure how to reply. "Where did that even come from?"

"Oh," Sylvia said with a dejected tone. "Just the way you were acting seemed funny to Sylvia."

"Right, no kissing here," Tagg smiled. "Actually, I just talked to her about some things."

"What things?" Jay asked, looking up from the book he was reading on his spot on his bed. Tagg shrugged.

"Nothing worth mentioning," he said nonchalantly.

"I'm hurt, Tagg," Nashi suddenly said, putting a hand on her heart. "I thought we didn't hide things from each other."

"We don't!" Tagg insisted. "But really, it wasn't anything you guys would be interested in. None of you understand what it means to have a heartfelt conversation with someone for the first time."

"A heartfelt conversation, huh?" Storm said, leaning on the frame of his bed and crossing his arms. "Interesting."

"It isn't interesting!" Tagg insisted, before finally giving up. "Okay you know what, nevermind. Just be happy that I was able to get Erica to agree to let us meet with her father."

"I did a little research on him," Lester said, typing in the lock screen password for his smartphone and going to a site that was already bookmarked in his internet explorer of choice. "Hoshi Churn. He's half Japanese just like Erica, so we should have no problem communicating with him. He's also really calm, but can go completely out of control if someone provokes him too much."

Everyone simultaneously looked towards Nashi.

"What're you guys looking at me for?!" she exclaimed, putting a hand on her hips and pursing her lips.

"Oh please, we all know that last sentence completely applied to you," Storm snorted. "So please, make sure you don't go all Nat-Nash on Churn-san."

 _Nat-Nash_ was a phrase that all the Fairy Tail kids used to refer to when Nashi began to act like her father in a destructive sense. Although Nashi was late to the party when it came to finding out about it, she was less than pleased when Tagg happened to mention it to her in front of the others.

"Oi!" Nashi said, pouting. "I won't go all _Nat-Nash_ on Hoshi-san! You can quote me on that!"

"Someone please quote her on that," Jay instantly said, prompting Sylvia to take out a notebook and write something down on a random page in the middle.

"Sylvia has done it!" she said, clicking her pen and throwing it back onto the desk in the corner of the room.

Everyone inwardly grinned. True, it was going to be a little challenging to get all of this done, but the six of them were more than determined to make the most of their time in America. They could all vouch for the fact that they wouldn't go back to Japan empty-handed.

"I wanna show you something, Nash," Storm suddenly said, getting up and offering her a hand. "Come with me."

Nashi raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Oooh is Storm-nii trying to get private time with Nashi-chan?" Sylvia asked with excitement. "Sylvia's ship is coming true!"

"Shut up!" both Nashi and Storm yelled at the same time.

"I take back what I said before," Jay said. "I'm siding with Sylvia-chan, actually. StormShi for the win! TaggShi has officially sunk for me!"

" _StormShi?!"_ Nashi and Storm screeched.

"TaggShi?" Tagg said, looking up.

"What is this," Lester laughed. "Are we entering shipping wars?"

"Yes!" Sylvia said happily. "I'll be taking bets!"

"Five hundred jewel for StormShi!" Jay exclaimed, pooling out his cash. "Or… fifty US dollars."

"I'll put in six hundred," Sylvia said with a sly smirk.

"You do realize we're standing right here, right, Sylv?" Storm deadpanned. "I don't even understand you guys and your silly fantasies."

"I'm getting tired of this," Nashi said quietly, looking over at Storm.

"Same," he agreed. "I hate all of you. Not you, Nashi. You're the only sane one in here."

"Sylvia-chan, make mine seven hundred," Jay whispered to Sylvia. "They're adding to my shipping fuel!"

Tagg kept quiet.

"Oi!" Storm said, looking at the younger red-headed boy. "I still don't like you calling her Sylvia-chan!"

"Run, Jay-kun!" Sylvia giggled, grabbing his hand and sprinting into one of the bathrooms. The others looked after them, not giving their sudden disappearances much thought. Storm turned back to Nashi.

"Come with me," he muttered, beckoning her to follow him. Nashi nodded wordlessly and went with him outside into the corridor of the hotel building.

Once the door was safely closed, Storm gestured to the long hallway.

"Let's go on a walk," he suggested.

"Okay," Nashi agreed as they began to walk.

They stayed in silence for a while, before Storm finally decided to speak.

"I'm really really tired of all of this," he suddenly said, stopping his walk and looking away from her. "Even the people back at home told me that I had to 'get it on with you' during our stay. Can't I just have a normal friend relationship with you, Nash?"

"Of course you can," Nashi said quickly, "but I do know where you're coming from. I myself have gotten really really frustrated with it. And now there's a stupid betting pool for us."

"Those idiots," Storm murmured, putting his hands in his pockets and looking down at his feet. "The things I do for you guys."

Nashi couldn't help but giggle at that. "Well, you've held on for this long. What can another sixteen years do?"

"Ha. Ha. Very funny."

"Though I do wish they'd just stop," Nashi said again. "I mean, it's up to me when I decide to fall for you!"

Storm, who didn't seem to notice what she had just said, nodded enthusiastically. "Right! And it's up to me to decide when I want to fall for _you_!"

"Exactly! And they need to understand that!"

"Yeah!"

"I mean," Nashi continued, "it isn't my fault that you're okay looking!"

"And it isn't my fault that you have pretty hair!"

"Right! And it definitely isn't my fault that your eyes sparkle and go all shiny in that really nice way!"

The two seemed unfazed by all of this.

"Hey you know what we should do?" Storm suddenly said, looking thoughtful. Nashi quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What?"

"Something that'll make them _shut the hell up_ about all of this nonsense shipping thing. Whatever it all means."

"Good idea, but what should we do?"

Storm thought for a moment, before his eyes brightened up and his ears perked up. He looked towards the slightly older girl, giving her the biggest grin she had ever seen on him.

"That's it!"

Nashi was confused. "That's what?"

"We should just give them what they want!" Storm exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. He looked up at her with an excited gaze. "Nashi! Be my girlfriend!"

Nashi blinked. Her cheeks burned bright crimson before she finally sputtered out a dramatic " _What_?!"

* * *

 **Trust me, there's more to this than what meets the eye. *winks***

 **Y'all should totally review.**

 **You should.**

 **Really.**

 **pls**


	8. Chapter 8

**Just a short filler chapter with minimal action but _tons_ of relationship advances.**

 **I have a new NaLu multichapter up on my profile! Y'all should check it out. ;) Also, because of having two multichaps going on at the same time, updates might be a little slower.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Sylvia shut the door to the bathroom behind her, breathing heavily. Jay gave her a curious stare, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Jay-kun, I want to stop being so secretive," she confessed, biting her lip and looking away. Dropping third person speech in front of him had become normal for the young girl. Jay sighed, coming up to her and lifting her chin to look at him.

"I'm sorry, Sylvia-chan," he said quietly, "but you know how they can be. They'd never let us live it down."

"Storm-nii is so annoying," Sylvia rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, I want to stop it too," Jay continued. "And we'll tell everyone once I talk to your dad."

"It's very admirable of you to do something like this," she pointed out. "I'm sure my father will be happy that you thought of him before making us official."

"We can't be official till I get his approval," he nodded. "But until then, Sylvia-chan, please don't think I don't have feelings for you, because I do."

Sylvia smiled. "I know you do. Do you know that I do too?"

"Of course I do. I think everyone does at this point," Jay grinned. "And I'll ask you properly once I suck up my fears and ask your father for his approval. Gray's always been known for his aggressiveness, so I don't know how it's going to work."

"It's going to work out," Sylvia said instantly.

Jay nodded. "I know."

…

Nashi blinked once.

Then twice.

Then three times.

"Wait, what?"

Storm gave her an exasperated glare. "You heard me. Be my girlfriend."

" _Why_?" Nashi questioned, her cheeks continuing to heat up from embarrassment. "What the heck, Storm?"

"Okay, hear me out," Storm said, "you be my girlfriend, and the teasing stops! People start being all 'Ooh the bet's over and we shouldn't be bothering them anymore. Let's just go about our lives normally and stop being such freaky freaks.'"

"That's stupid," Nashi said, crossing her arms. "Are you a dense idiot or what? You know just as well as I do that that'll never work out."

"Oh, so you just don't wanna be my pretend girlfriend, then?" Storm accused. "Are you saving that title for someone? Huh? Huh? Are ya are ya are ya?"

"What, _no_!" Nashi said, pushing him away. "That isn't it! I just… ugh, Storm!"

"Oh is it really? Or do you just wanna become Tagg's girlfriend then? Is that it?"

Nashi's jaw dropped. "Are you even listening to yourself?!"

Storm sighed. "Whatever. I'll take that as a 'no', then. Gee, Nash. I thought I wasn't the only one who wanted to get all of this over with."

"You're not!" Nashi insisted. "I just don't think I need to become your fake girlfriend to prove that point to anyone. I'm free to like anyone I want!"

"Yeah? Then fake like me!"

"What if I don't wanna fake like you?"

"You should!"

"Why! This isn't fair on me!"

"I'll fake like you if you fake like me."

"Storm…"

Storm suddenly jumped up, slapping his hand together and curling his fingers into the back of the opposite hand. His eyes sparkled as he looked up at her with the most adorable pout Nashi had ever seen him pull off. "Pleaasseee Nashi?" he whined, his eyes seemingly getting larger as he spoke.

"But," Nashi said, biting her lip, "if you're faking something like that… it means it'll never be true!"

Storm didn't answer for a few seconds. "Well, I mean."

"What?"

"Nothing," Storm said, shaking his head. "Anyway, please, Nash? This could really work!"

"Are you sure…?" Nashi said, still a little skeptical.

Storm instantly nodded. "Yeah! It just has to not be very spontaneous so it doesn't look like it's fake."

Nashi sighed, raising a hand to rub her temples in displeasure. For some reason though, there were painful jabs coursing through her chest. She couldn't explain them, of course. Nashi wasn't able to explain a lot of things these days, now that she thought about it.

"Okay," she agreed, her voice failing her true feelings. "Whatever. Sure. Let's do it."

Storm jumped up, pumping a fist into the air. "Awesome!" he exclaimed. "Now we need a super good plan to make them get fooled."

Nashi sighed, dropping herself to the cool carpet of the hotel floor. She crossed her legs underneath her, looking up at her "boyfriend" with a curious gaze.

"How about this. 'Oh Nashi and I always had secret feelings for each other and confessed just now. Oh yeah, now we're dating.'"

Storm frowned. "That's boring."

"You're boring!"

"Oh yeah? Well you're even more boring then!"

"I'm beautiful."

"Uh huh, right."

"Oi! You're my boyfriend now! You gotta compliment me on my ravishing looks!"

"No I don't!"

Then suddenly, a new voice said, "Yes, Storm. You kind of do."

Both young teenagers swiftly flipped their heads around to see Lester standing in the doorway of their hotel room, leaning against the frame and wearing an extremely amused smile.

"Lester?!" Nashi exclaimed.

"How much of that did you hear," Storm said with a deadpan look.

Lester shrugged. "Everything. So I guess the bets are all over, right?"

Nashi quickly covered her face with her hands. "It isn't real! It's all-"

"Fake. Yes, I heard," Lester answered. He shook his head. "Nashi's okay with this, Storm?"

Nashi and Lester were like siblings. It was natural that he wanted to make sure Storm hadn't just forced her into something she didn't want. Even if he knew he hadn't.

"Yep!" Storm replied with a big grin. "My persuasion skills are top notch, you see."

"Right," Lester nodded, not completely believing him. "Anyhow, I want to talk to your girlfriend. You go back and tell everyone if you'd like. I don't mind being an ally for Nashi."

Storm grinned heavily again. "Cool," he said, turning and disappearing back into the hotel room.

When he was out of sight, Lester turned to face Nashi.

"Are you really alright?" he asked slowly, walking up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Nashi gulped. "Just peachy," she replied quietly. "Just… peachy. Yeah."

"Peachy," Lester repeated.

"Yeah, peachy. You got a problem with that?"

"No. Of course not."

"Good!"

"Good."

"Fine!"

"Fine then."

Lester was smirking, and Nashi knew it.

"Oh take that disgusting look off of your disgusting face," she said, glaring at him once before she herself went back into the room.

Lester laughed before following after her.

When Nashi entered, the first thing she heard was screams of, "What?!" "Really?!" and "You and Nashi?!"

Nashi grimaced as she came into view of the other people in the room.

"Storm!" she scolded, walking up to the pleased-looking boy. "I thought we agreed on it _not_ being a spontaneous reveal?"

"We did?" Storm grinned, clearly teasing her.

Nashi groaned, cautiously turning to face Sylvia, Jay, and Tagg. Sylvia had supposed-hearts in her eyes, Jay was smiling ear to her, and Tagg's eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth was twisted in a painful smile.

"Sylvia is so happy for Nashi-chan and Storm-nii!" Sylvia exclaimed, running up to her friend and taking her hands in her own. "Finally! Jay-kun! Where's Sylvia's money?"

"Oi!" Jay yelled, grabbing the girl by her waist from behind. He lifted the laughing Sylvia into the air. "I changed my bet, remember?!"

"Yes, but Sylvia wants the money you owe her from before you switched sides!"

"That's not how it works!"

"Settle down," Lester said, smiling and sitting on his own bed. "I think we've all been… expecting this for a while now. Haven't we, Tagg?"

Everyone's gaze turned to Tagg, who was still looking at Nashi with an unexpected look.

"Wait… you two… are really together?" he asked slowly. "Storm wasn't just making it up?"

Nashi shook her head. "No. It's true."

Tagg inwardly gulped, something that Nashi did not miss while observing him.

"Really?"

"Really."

Tagg looked between Nashi and Storm slowly, as if mentally calculating his next move. "Oh."

"Just 'oh'?" Storm asked, smiling. Of course, he knew why Tagg was acting this way. He always had known.

"Yeah," Tagg nodded. "Just 'oh'."

Nashi gulped awkwardly. "Alright then. Now that this has been established," she started, "Tagg, what's the news with Erica?"

That seemed to snap Tagg out of it.

"Oh! Right!" he said, his face getting a little red from embarrassment. "Our interview is tonight."

"TONIGHT?!"

"What? Did everyone not know that?"

Lester blinked. "Tonight?!" he said. "Really?"

Tagg nodded. "Yeah. Apparently that was the only time Erica's father had time today."

"You didn't think to ask for tomorrow? Or day after? Or in a week?" Jay said, his hands fidgeting out of nervousness.

Tagg stopped. "We only have a month here, guys. We need to act as soon as possible if we don't want to extend our stay, you know?"

Lester nodded. "I'll text Mioa to meet us in the local café for breakfast today instead," he said, taking out his phone and clicking into his messaging platform.

"And I'll get Erica," Tagg said, grabbing his phone too. He went to the closet. He took out his shoes, slipped them on, and disappeared through the doorway.

Sylvia looked after Tagg with a secret smile, turning to Jay as they shared a quick glance.

"Okay, everything's set," Lester said, looking up from his phone and grinning heavily.

"We should get going," Sylvia nodded.

"Yeah," Nashi agreed.

They gulped, knowing the rest of the day was to be filled with unexpected surprises.

…

Tagg gulped in the hot summer breeze as he made his way down to the lobby. He had just told Erica to meet him there in the next five minutes to discuss what was happening for the rest of the day.

"You're early," she said upon his arrival. "You said five minutes. It's only been three."

Tagg glared at her. "And what about you? Lurking around the hotel. Creepy much?"

Erica looked alarmed. "Uh… okay. I see how it is."

Tagg sighed. "Sorry. Just got a few things on my mind is all."

Erica nodded. "I know the feeling."

"Yeah."

The two stood there, awkwardly avoiding the other's gaze as they tried to figure out how to speak to the other person.

"You… wanna talk about it?" Erica asked slowly.

"Another time," was Tagg's reply. "Not in the mood right now."

"I see," Erica nodded, not understanding why it was suddenly so hard to talk to this guy. "Are you ready for tonight?"

"Oh Mavis no," Tagg said, suddenly relaxing. "I have no idea what to expect. What kind of person is Hoshi-san?"

"Strict. Uptight. Rude. Impatient. Jerky. Dangerous. Calm. Spitefu-"

"Okay okay I get it I get it!"

That got a laugh out of her. Tagg too. And soon, both of them were silently giggling in their own version of fantasy land.

"No but really, as long as you don't mess up his beautiful office area, it'll be fine," Erica reassured.

Tagg coughed a bit, but nodded.

"Have you told him about being friends with us lot?" he asked.

Erica nodded. "Yeah. He said he was going to see for himself what you guys are like tonight," she said. "So please, if you still have any ounce of need for me in your adventurous life, make sure you set a good impression for yourself. Not only for me."

"Got it," Tagg chuckled. "Does that mean that if we don't, I can't see you anymore?"

Erica stopped. "Something's wrong with you," she stated.

"That's a pretty bold statement."

"No, really," Erica continued. "You're not usually so… desperate? Is that the right word?"

"You met me yesterday."

"One day is more than enough to get a sense of what someone's like!"

"I guess?"

"Did something go wrong with _her_?"

Tagg blinked, his eyes darting back up to meet hers. He stared at her for a few seconds.

"She was taken from me by my cousin."

Erica hummed thoughtfully.

"We're more alike than I originally thought, Tagg Vastia."

"What does that mean?"

She smiled softly, looking down at her fingers and twisting them around near the palm of her hand. He was looking at her curiously, unsure what she meant by that statement.

"Remember how I told you that my love life is not really the best?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

She sighed. "Well. Something similar happened to me too."

He looked up in alarm. "Really?"

She nodded.

"But that's a story for another time."

He looked at her.

She looked back at him.

They looked at each other finally, and for the first time, he felt like someone understood him.

For the first time, Tagg felt complete.


	9. Chapter 9

**Heyaa we hit 100 reviews! That's amazing, guys! ^_^**

 **Sorry for the the late update, by the way. I've just been so caught up in The Desk and the other random one shots and fics I've released that World Class just seemed to slip my mind until recently.**

 **I've been writing a lot since the last update. *wink wink***

* * *

Tonight.

It was tonight.

Nashi gulped at the realization. Today was the day when she and her friends would finally get a chance to speak with Hoshi, Erica's father, and try to convince him to make Fairy Tail a chain restaurant franchise.

"You guys ready for this?" Tagg asked, absentmindedly drumming his fingers on the desk in their hotel room.

"More than ever," Nashi replied with a fatal grin.

"Now, do we need to go over the rules for when we're there again?" Lester asked.

Nashi scoffed. "You say that in a kind of peculiar way."

"Yeah, because it's mostly directed towards you," Storm suddenly spoke up. Nashi shot him a glare.

"Oh yeah? Well if that's so, then that makes you even worse!"

"Worse at what exactly?" Storm retorted.

"Ahh lover's spite!" Sylvia cooed, putting her hands together and sighing deeply. "Sylvia is still so happy about Nashi-chan and Storm-nii!"

Nashi instantly backed away as if suddenly remembering the position she was in with Storm. Not wanting to blow their cover, she quickly made an attempt to laugh it off. Storm, who had a similar reaction to the whole situation, followed suit shortly after.

"Aha… that's right," he said awkwardly.

"Anyway," Lester cut in, clearly sensing the fake couple's obvious discomfort. "Need I remind you, Nashi, that you are not, under any circumstances go all 'Nashtsu' on Hoshi-san?"

"Yeah yeah," Nashi grumbled under her breath. "I won't get in the way. Don't worry."

"Nashtsu?" Storm questioned.

Lester shrugged. "We changed the phrase for when Nashi goes out of control to Nashtsu since it flowed better."

"Right…" Storm said, looking back at the group.

"Alrighty," Jay said, clapping his hands together and grinning heavily. "I'm a bit nervous and we're going to mess up and we won't be any help and I am so nervous and everything is going to go badly and Nashi and Storm are cute and everyone's gonna go out of control and Sylvia-chan you look really nice today and oh my gosh I'm panicking a bit right now and-"

"What did you say about my _little sister_?" Storm hissed, stepping forward to the younger boy and raising a taunting eyebrow. "I already let you call her 'Sylvia-chan'! What more could you want?!"

"N-nothing!" Jay quickly said, putting his hands into the air in a defensive motion.

Storm let it go, but Jay was clearly still a bit frightened.

Nashi looked upon the entire exchange out of pure amusement. "Oh c'mon, Storm, don't be so rude to the poor boy!"

" _Poor_?! I say he's anything but poor!" Storm retorted.

Nashi rolled her eyes, and opted not to say another word on the subject.

"Alrighty then," Lester said, stepping into their mindless bickering. "We should begin to get ready for tonight. Nashi? Sylvia? You two can get dressed in the larger bathroom."

"Heeeyyy," Tagg instantly groaned. "There are two of them, and four of us! That's not fair-"

"I dare you to say that again," Nashi said, crossing her arms and looking at the green haired boy dead in the eye.

"A-aye ma'am!" Tagg quickly corrected. "Bathroom's all yours!"

"Dress nicely," Lester warned, "we're going out for dinner at a very formal restaurant afterwards with Hoshi if he agrees."

"What if he doesn't?" Storm questioned.

Lester shrugged. "We'll still go out for dinner. Even if it is without him."

"Good," Nashi nodded, before taking Sylvia's hand in her own and leading her into the bathroom. "I finally get to wear my dress!"

Sylvia giggled as she was easily pulled into the bathroom, behind her pink haired friend.

"You'll knock Storm-nii out of his socks!"

"Shut up!"

The boys laughed and Storm's cheeks heated in fury for his little sister. Tagg turned to him, eyeing him closely. Storm didn't notice, so he continued to look at the now closed bathroom door with a weird expression on his face. Tagg didn't comment on it, but was definitely more than a little suspicious.

"Well you heard them, men!" Lester said. "Time to knock our ladies out of their socks!"

"Uh…" Jay started, "you do know that only you and Storm have girlfriends here, right?"

"Yeah, but we all have someone dear to our hearts, do we not?" Lester said easily back as if not effected by this statement at all.

Jay's jaw went agape while Tagg just looked confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Lester just rolled his eyes. "Honestly. Do you not see the thing you have going on with Churn-san's daughter?"

"Erica?" Tagg blinked.

"Yes, Erica," Lester said, crossing his arms and giving Tagg a peculiar look. "Seriously? I thought you liked her or something by the way you're always talking _to_ her and _about_ her."

"Now that you mention it, that does make sense," Storm said slowly. "Aww has my baby cousin finally fallen for someone?"

Tagg shot him a disgusted look. "I'm two years older than you."

"Not in mind!" Storm retorted.

"That's true. In mind, I'm like twenty years older than you."

Storm, flabbergasted, could only say a simple "Oi!" back.

"We should get ready," Jay said, eyeing the clock. Just then, the four of them heard soft giggles coming from the bathroom. They looked over to the still locked door, and idly wondered what Nashi and Sylvia could have been talking about.

"Wonder what's happening in there," Storm mused silently.

Jay, on the other hand, was looking quite red. "N-no idea…"

A rapid knock came from the hotel room's front door, and Lester went to go see who it was. "Must be the room service people or something. I'll tell them to come back later," he muttered before opening the door.

Who it was, though, shocked everyone.

"Hiya boys!" Mioa said, waltzing into the room with a huge smile on her face. Lester gaped at his girlfriend who so casually invited herself into their room, while the others just stared.

"Mioa?" Lester asked, walking up to her. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you guys have an interview tonight!" she said, clapping her hands together happily. "I couldn't just not come to cheer you on!"

"You act as if we're playing a basketball game for high school or something," Tagg muttered.

Lester, however, looked more than pleased.

"Thanks, hon," he smiled, lifting her hand and delivering a small peck on the back of it. Mioa giggled, stepping away from her boyfriend in a teasing manner and looking back at the three others.

"Oh? Where's Nashi and Sylvia?" she asked.

"They're getting ready in the bathroom," Storm said, casually pointing over to the locked door where Sylvia and Nashi were. Mioa nodded once, before walking over to it and knocking in her usual fast way.

In the blink of an eye, Mioa had disappeared into the bathroom and was completely out of sight.

The boys groaned.

"I give them an hour," Tagg said.

"I give them two," Lester said.

"Nah. They're gonna take at least three," Storm sighed.

…

Just as Storm predicted, the three girls stepped back outside exactly three hours later. The boys had already changed into a bit more formal attire, and had been waiting around for them for the past two hours.

"Finally!" Storm exclaimed upon seeing the doorknob turn. "You guys are out- _woah_."

'Woah' indeed.

The girls had definitely put a lot of thought into their outfits. None of them looked too flashy, and none of them looked too simple. It really was perfect.

Nashi had her hair down and curled elegantly. Her pink locks tumbled gracefully and she had applied natural makeup, accentuating her big brown eyes and her pale pink lips. She really looked almost exactly like her mother, in everyone else's opinion. She was wearing a simple yellow strapless dress that reached just below her thighs. It was a fit-and-flair style, which helped bring out her curves. She wore dark red ballet flats, and her nails were painted the same color. To put it simply, she looked _gorgeous_.

Sylvia had straightened her blue curls and had tied them in a loose-fitting ponytail. She had light makeup on, but her dress was what caught everyone's eye. It was blue. A darker shade than her hair, but the way it fell down her body was what mesmerized everyone. It had red pleats and was the perfect mix of casual and formal. Her feet were adorned with lacy silver sandals and her ponytail was effectively on her right shoulder. She looked _stunning_.

Mioa, on the other hand, was wearing a slightly longer dress that went down to her knees. It was pure white with a golden band that went around her waist. Her hair was curly and she wore heavy makeup. A thick golden band went around her head that came off as a very innocent look. Her lips were dark red from her lipstick and her eye makeup was complete to perfection. She wore golden heels and her nails were painted the same color. She looked _angelic_.

Storm's jaw dropped.

Lester's jaw dropped.

Jay's jaw dropped.

Tagg just looked on in an appreciative manner.

"You ladies look beautiful," he nodded, walking up to them and booping their noses affectionately. "There's no way Hoshi can say no to you three now!"

Storm gulped.

Lester gulped.

Jay gulped.

"Thank you, Tagg," Mioa grinned. Nashi smiled softly and Sylvia's lips widened as she beamed.

Storm coughed awkwardly.

Lester coughed awkwardly.

Jay coughed awkwardly.

Slowly, the three other boys moved up to their respective ladies and took their hands. Jay stayed a good distance away from Sylvia, but anyone could tell what it meant to the two of them.

"You look great," Storm said with a genuine smile. He leaned in to Nashi's ear and quickly whispered, "Don't take that as a real compliment. I just have to keep up the boyfriend act."

Nashi playfully hit his shoulder. "Thanks, Storm," she said quietly, choosing not to address the secretive statement he had just said.

"Beautiful," Lester said, leaning down to peck Mioa's cheek softly. "You look beautiful."

"Why thank you," Mioa said with a grin of her own.

Jay bit his lip, darting his eyes around to make sure no one was looking. Thankfully, the others were too caught up in their own little fantasy world to notice him. He looked back at Sylvia, whose eyes were wide and hopeful. He sighed, leaning forward and whispering a simple "Y-you look amazing, Sylvia-chan."

Sylvia's cheeks burned the color of his hair. "Th-thank you, Jay-kun."

"Alrighty then, we better get going," Lester said, turning to the big group and grinning heavily. "Time to show Hoshi-san that Fairy Tail deserves a spot in his franchise!"

"YEAH!" everyone cheered back.

Tagg, though, looked away. His reply was a lot more unenthusiastic than the rest.

…

Erica looked up at her father's figure as he paced around the room.

"They are late!" Hoshi announced. Erica sighed.

"Papa, they're only a few minutes behind," she said solemnly. "They'll be here soon. Tagg-"

"Tagg? You've brought his name up more than enough times for me to start being suspicious. You've been talking to them?" Hoshi asked, turning to look at his only daughter with a frown etched into his face. "Since when did you go around making friends?"

"They approached me on my flight back home from Japan," Erica explained.

"I should've known better than to let you go visit your mother like that," Hoshi said, shaking his head. "My mistake."

"I wanted to!" Erica said, crossing her arms. "Papa, I hadn't seen her in a year."

"Yes yes," Hoshi said, shaking his hand in her face in a dismissive way. "Anyway, when are these people coming? Fairy Tail, was it?"

Erica nodded. "Yes, Papa. Fairy Tail. It's a singular restaurant in Japan."

"I remember getting an application from Fairy Tail a while ago," Hoshi said, thoughtful, "but they didn't have what I was looking for at all. Natsu Dragneel, was it?"

"Yes. His daughter, Nashi Dragneel is coming today."

Hoshi's eyes widened. "So the owner isn't present?" he questioned.

Erica gulped. "No, but-"

"Natsu and… what was her name, Lucy? The Dragneels aren't coming?" Hoshi continued with force. "Pray tell, dear Erica, who exactly is coming today to speak with me?"

Erica sighed. "Nashi Dragneel, Storm Fullbuster, Sylvia Fullbuster, Lester Dreyar, Jay Fernandes, Tagg Vastia, and possibly Mioa Smith."

"I don't recognize any of these names."

"That's because they're my age. They're the kids of the adults who own the business."

Hoshi stopped. "This is extremely unprofessional. I didn't even get a proper email from Natsu Dragneel about this."

Erica looked away. "I don't know why that is."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Hoshi and Erica both turned expectantly towards it.

Hoshi cleared his throat.

"Come in," he said, placing his hands behind his back and waiting patiently for what was about to occur.

The double doors to the large conference room opened and seven people walked in, standing side by side.

Hoshi's eyes widened when he noticed their attire. They were certainly dressed the part. He glanced down to Erica to see her giving the faintest smile to the green haired boy near the middle of the pack. That must have been Tagg. The boy Erica's been talking so much about.

"Good evening," the girl with long pink hair said in refined English. Hoshi raised an eyebrow at her attempt at the failed accent. "My name is Nashi Dragneel, and we have come from Fairy Tail to request you make my father's restaurant established as a chain."

"Japanese is fine," was Hoshi's only reply, startling all of them. He walked up to Nashi and held out a hand. "My ex-wife is Japanese. I know enough to get by."

Nashi's already wide eyes suddenly dilated. "Ah… okay." She turned to Storm to whisper to him just loud enough for him to hear. "I don't like him. I don't like him at all."

Storm stayed silent.

Hoshi turned and led them to the large table. He took a seat at the head of the table and Erica sat besides him. Tagg sat besides her, and the others filled in accordingly.

Hoshi pretended not to notice his daughter's hand clasp around Tagg's for emotional support. Instead, he took out his files and notes and began to look over them carefully.

Then, the meeting began.

"Your income was horrible these past few months," Hoshi was saying. "How on Earth can you expect me to allow Fairy Tail to establish itself without enough profit?"

"We're trying our hardest to fix the issue," Lester replied confidently.

Nashi stayed silent.

"Your location is good, but the way you go about it absolutely shameful. No flyers, no advertisements… It's just sitting there!"

"People know we exist, and we think that much is enough," Storm said.

Nashi's teeth clenched.

"And the amount of useless renovations you've done! Don't you understand what the word 'enough' means? Can't you see what it did to your money flow?"

"We wanted Fairy Tail to look as polished and elegant as possible," Sylvia exclaimed.

Nashi balled her hands into fists.

"You keep raising the prices on the menu and hope it'll help with income. Obviously, I believe you've already realized the issue with that."

"Profit is valued at Fairy Tail, Hoshi-san. We needed to do whatever we could," Jay said softly.

Nashi saw red.

"All your waiters and waitresses left you years ago! What do you think that says about your lack of-"

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone's heads whipped around to see Nashi, who had stood up and banged her fist onto the wooden table. Nashi was breathing heavily, which gave everyone a pretty good idea of what was going on.

"Shit, we're screwed," Storm said just loud enough for Sylvia to hear him. Sylvia grimaced at her brother's profanity, but also because of her friend's outburst.

"All you've said about us is _bad_ things!" Nashi yelled. "Don't you have _anything_ good to say?!"

Hoshi's eyes narrowed. He too stood up to face the pink haired girl.

"If I did, I would have said it already, Miss Nashi!" he bellowed.

Nashi didn't let up just then. "Oh please, you act all high and mighty, but all you are is a sick, conceited old man!"

Erica's hand tightened around Tagg's.

"What is she doing," she whispered.

Tagg gulped. "Don't ask me. Just get prepared to run."

"Nashi, stop," Storm warned, getting up to go stand besides the raging girl. Nashi slapped him away, stepping closer to Hoshi.

"I don't know who you think you are, but I take pride in my dad's restaurant," she said, her voice becoming low. "And I love Fairy Tail! No matter what you say about it, that fact will never change!"

"That little _fact_ of yours doesn't concern me in the slightest," Hoshi replied with ease. "Now please. Leave my office before I ring for security."

Nashi stuck up her nose, turning and grabbing Storm's arm. She tugged him away, and the others followed helplessly behind the two of them.

"Erica, you coming?" Nashi suddenly asked, looking back at the girl, who was still sitting besides her father.

Erica just shook her head glumly.

Nashi shrugged, continuing her path outside the office.

"I'm… I'm really sorry about this," Lester said, just before exiting as well. Mioa, who was now the only one left, turned to face Hoshi one last time.

"They really are good kids, Churn-san," she said quietly. "You just… probably got them a little riled up, is all." After that, Mioa bowed and left the room too.

Soon, it was only Erica and Hoshi left.

"I… I didn't expect for that to-"

"It doesn't matter," Hoshi said. "Not only did that girl go past common courtesy, she had the nerve to back answer to me as well!"

Erica stayed silent. "They're good friends. You just saw them in a bad mood, Papa."

"Enough," Hoshi commanded. "I don't want you speaking with them again, you hear me?"

Erica's pupils dilated, a sense of dread filling her stomach. "Papa, they're really not that-"

"And I saw that little hand stunt you pulled with that Tagg fellow," Hoshi said with a disapproving glare. He sighed. "I just don't want you talking to them."

Erica glanced up at her old man, and didn't say anything.

It didn't matter what he said.

She'd make sure to get a proper explanation.

* * *

 **WORLD CLASS WILL END AT CHAPTER 16!**

 **That's 15 storyline chapters and 1 epilogue chapter.**

 **I'm going to try to finish this story as quickly as possible, since I'm getting kinda sick of it to be honest and I'd rather work on my other multi chapters.**

 **So you know what that means, right?**

 **It means a little bit more frequent updates. The Desk is still my top priority, along with Time Trickled On, but I'll be sure to write World Class a lot more so I can complete it sooner rather than later.**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to leave a review telling me what you thought!**


	10. Chapter 10

**It's been more than a month I'm sorry.**

 **But how are y'all? I'm doin' just dandy thanks for asking.**

* * *

Erica trudged through the parking lot of the hotel where Tagg and everyone else were staying. She glanced around, her eyes darting back and forth before she let out a low, painful sigh. Tagg had promised her that he'd meet up with her to talk about things, so where the _hell_ was he?

She sighed. She shouldn't expect much from him. After everything went down the day before with Nashi, Erica was unsure she could recover. Her father had demanded she never speak to them again, but Erica couldn't do that.

She could never do that.

Truth be told, she was growing quite fond of the group of friends. She loved hanging out with them, no matter how little she wanted to admit it. Nashi and Sylvia were amazing gal pals, and Jay, Storm, and Lester were just great.

And Tagg…

Tagg was something completely different.

He was open, and kind, and caring, and made her feel things she never thought she was even capable of feeling. He had tore down her walls and then built himself permanently into them. Erica never thought she would find someone like that, someone who she would be comfortable with in that sense.

What was going on? Was this what she thought it was?

Was she… in _love_?

Or was it in _like_?

Was it just a crush?

A schoolgirl crush?

Or what it something more?

Did these feelings run deeper?

"... Erica?

Erica immediately spun around to face Tagg, who had just arrived. He was panting, his face splotchy and red and his hands holding his knees. Erica's eyes widened as she looked upon his helpless figure.

"We need to talk," Tagg continued.

Erica gulped. She nodded.

"Yeah. I know."

So, they talked.

"I'm sorry," Tagg started. "I didn't know Nashi would do something like that."

Erica sighed. "No one did. But I can't say I'm not surprised. Even though I've known her for only a short amount of time, I can tell she's a pretty… _rough_ person."

Tagg let out a strained laugh. "Yeah. You can say that again."

Erica glanced up at him. "Papa told me I couldn't meet with you guys ever again."

Tagg's eyes went wide. "What?" he whispered. "He can't… he can't do that…"

Erica rolled her eyes. "He can. He did."

"But… I like talking to you," Tagg said in a low voice.

Erica bit her lip, her thoughts running wild. "I like talking to you too."

Tagg then offered her a small smile, opting not to say anything more after that. The two of them stood in silence, Tagg still many feet away from her. He suddenly straightened up, walking towards her so that they were noses away.

"Then let's just keep talking to each other," he said in a hard, determined voice.

"T-Tagg," Erica started, "Papa is a _very_ influential man in Sacramento… I don't want your restaurant business to get in even more trouble than it already is."

"Oh trust me, after that show Nashi pulled today, I doubt it's even possible anymore for Fairy Tail to get in more trouble. We're in deep enough shit as it is."

Erica winced at his language, but didn't say anything about it. Instead, she chose to ask the question she had wanted to ask since the meeting. "Speaking of, what was that all about?"

Tagg sighed and looked away. "I don't know, but we all expected it to happen. Nashi has a… tendency to go a little crazy when she's riled up. She takes after her father in that sense."

"I never want to meet Natsu Dragneel-san in my life," Erica said with a nod, causing Tagg to laugh a bit.

"He's still a good guy," Tagg said, "a very good guy, actually."

"I see," Erica replied.

"Anyway, I really am sorry for Nashi. I'll make sure she apologizes to both you and your father as soon as possible."

"She doesn't need to say sorry to me, but it would be good for all of you if she did to Papa. Might help your chances at getting Fairy Tail established."

"Is there even any point anymore?" Tagg said, wistfully looking off to the side. "I mean, after everything, I'm considering just giving up hope."

"You never know," Erica said, shaking her head, "I get where you're coming from and all, but I wouldn't go as far as to say you should just give up hope altogether."

Tagg stared at her for a moment. "We sound like mature adults."

"I was just noticing that."

They chuckled lightly, momentarily forgetting about whatever it was they were talking about before, taking a minute to notice everything about the other person.

It was then when Tagg blurted it out.

"Everyone's beginning to pair up I'm just realizing I'm the only one left everyone has someone Nashi has Storm I think I like you."

He said it in a single breath, without pausing at all between words for Erica's better understanding. She blinked a few times, and he stared right back at her with his jaw hanging open as if he had just realized what he had said.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Forget I said that," Tagg quickly covered it up with, shaking his head constantly. Erica's surprised look changed into one of confusion, but she didn't visibly loosen up physically.

"Can't really forget it if you've already said it out loud," Erica said, a now pointed expression written across her face. "But okay. If that's what you want."

"You don't have to forget about it!" Tagg said, closing his eyes as his brain became a jumbled mess. "I mean… unless you, want me too- I mean, I mean- want to. Gah. I'll just stop talking okay?"

He peeked open a single eye to see Erica trying to hold back several laughs.

"Yeah, sure. I won't forget about it then. Does that work?" she asked, grinning from ear to ear. It was really the first time Tagg saw Erica with that big of a smile upon her face.

It made him happy.

"I'm not really sure of my feelings, to be honest," he said quietly, "but with Nashi and Storm starting to go out and all, I've had a lot of time to think about it."

"Really now," Erica replied, still in smiles.

Tagg nodded seriously.

"Really."

"I'm not sure of mine either," Erica continued. "My feelings, I mean. Not your realness."

"Really." This time, his tone was more teasing. "We could probably just… I dunno, hang out sometime?"

Erica blinked. "If you're asking me out, the answer is no."

Tagg's eyes widened and his fists loosened. What? He had really thought they had something going right before that comment, but now he was reconsidering what he had just spilled to her.

"I mean, I can't because of my father," Erica hastily finished. "Not yet, anyway. You know why."

A wave of relief washed over Tagg, and he nodded, happy with this new turn of events. "Okay," he breathed.

Erica smiled softly. "I'm pretty sure this is the most I've smiled in ages."

"Yeah, I can vouch for that."

"Hey!"

"Sorry!"

…

It was a good day for Fairy Tail.

Ro bustled around the kitchen, throwing spices and powders into pots and kneading dough at a different counter. His shrill, high voice ordered the other chefs in a professional manner, while still remaining calm, cool, and collected.

Lucy stared at him from the kitchen door, admiring his handiwork and grinning from ear to ear.

"I know Natsu's said this enough times, but we really are so grateful that you agreed to come back to work."

Ro glanced back at the blonde and smiled thoughtfully. "Really, it was no problem Lucy. Sar got a maternity leave from work to take care of Rena, and I was quite looking forward to coming back for a visit. True, it's a bit of a different visit than I'd initially planned, but oh well, I'll take it!"

This elicited a laugh from Lucy. "Sure, I get it," she nodded. "Still, no one can beat your handiness in the kitchen. You truly are a spectacular chef, Ro."

Ro mock bowed. "Why thank you, Lady Lucy," he jokingly said. "Anyway, how's Natsu doing with those flyers?"

Lucy sighed. "He finished hanging them up around town a few hours ago, despite me telling him that they weren't the most attractive ones."

"Who designed them?"

"He did."

"I thought Gray was given that task," Ro pointed out.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, but since when did Natsu trust Gray with handling his restaurant?"

"True."

"Anyway, there's still about an hour till opening time. We'll see just how many customers we attracted by then, I guess."

"I suppose so," Ro said. "Lucy, is there anything else I can do to help?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Nashi and the kids are on a school trip right now, otherwise I'd have made them help around the restaurant somehow."

"Well now you have me!" Ro said, enthusiasm dripping through his voice. Lucy shrugged with a small smile that barely matched his tone from a few seconds ago.

"Yep! I guess we do," she said.

"Lucy!" a new voice interrupted their conversation. Lucy and Ro both turned to see Natsu standing in the doorway, a little away from Lucy. He was holding up his phone, an article that was linked from _GuildMates_ showing on the screen.

Lucy quickly scanned the text, gasping softly upon reading the headline.

"' _Flam & Tee gets unexpected visitors_'?" she read aloud, her eyes widening as she took Natsu's phone into her own hands. "Fairy Tail children were seen outside the building wearing flattering attire- oh my gosh there's a picture! Natsu! That looks like Nashi and Storm!"

Natsu was panting heavily and a cross look was upon his face. "That's because it _is_ them, Luce! I don't understand! I thought they were on a field trip!"

Lucy nodded slowly. "They are! Or at least, that's what Nashi told me…" She trailed off, looking away. "Is it possible that they all lied to us about why they were going? This doesn't make sense."

"I think that's exactly what happened," Natsu said, crossing his arms under his chest. "I want to know what's going on. Can you call Nashi?"

Lucy nodded, flipping out her own phone and dialing the number, putting it on speaker.

Her daughter picked up after three rings.

"Hello?" Lucy said into the microphone on the bottom of her smartphone.

"Mom?" Nashi's voice came out through the speaker. "Is something the matter? Why are you calling?"

Lucy's lips twisted into a frown. "Honey, your father and I just read an interesting article on the news."

"What?"

"Something about you and the others loitering around the building of Flam & Tee?"

The line went silent.

"What is going on?" Lucy pressed on. "Nashi Dragneel, tell me the truth right now."

"Uh… the class was just there for a few minutes! We were… on our way for dinner at a fancy restaurant!"

"Really now," Lucy said, unamused. "Is anyone else there with you right now?"

"Sylvia is," Nashi said, and Lucy then heard a bit of shuffling around followed by a few whispers.

"Hello Aunty?" Sylvia's voice said. "This is Sylvia."

"Hi, dear," Lucy started, getting more and more flustered. "Where were you all last night? I just read an article about you guys."

"Sylvia and her friends were going out for dinner," Sylvia said, but there was something wrong about her voice. It was too… dead sounding. Dull. Too monotonous and memorized.

"I see," Lucy said in a low voice. She glanced up to see Natsu looking at her worriedly. "Well, have fun."

"Bye," she heard Nashi say before the line hung up.

The room went dead silent for a few moments before Lucy spoke up again.

"Well, we obviously know they're lying, right?" she asked, to which Natsu nodded. "What do you say we do, Natsu?"

"I'll tell you what we're going to do," Natsu started. "We're boarding the next flight for California."


End file.
